


Uprooted

by elijahking (orphan_account)



Series: On a Balcony [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: A little bit of Drama, Asexual Papyrus, Concerts, Coping Mechanisms, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Houseplant Flowey, M/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Magicians, Multi, Mute Frisk, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Polyamorous Relationships, Polyamory, Queer platonic relationships, Reader Insert, Reader is a Twin, Reader is gender neutral, Slow Build, Star Gazing, Street & Stage Magic, THIS IS A HAPPY FIC GDI, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Twins, a touch of angst, gender neutral reader, hella fluff, nerdy science stuff, observatories, polyamorous mettaton, reader and undyne are BEST FRIENDS, reader can use magic, reader uses they/them, seriously i love writing their interactions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-07 01:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5437811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/elijahking
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to On a Balcony.<br/>You have returned from your vacation. You struggle to make your way as a professional magician, receiving help and promotion from all your monster friends. And then, at your very first big-stage show, you meet Flowey. Flowey the Flower. Yeah, it's not very creative, he's not good with names. Much like his father. Frisk cares for this depressed flower, and Sans distrusts it. And you?<br/>You have no idea what the hell is going on.</p><p>Rated T for language and suggestive imagery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Surfacing for Air

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the title is a joke

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ffuck it i'm posting this

                It has been

                a month

                since you’ve returned

and not one. Not one! Phone call from Sans. Not one. Plenty of texts messages, but still! You were so lonely for his voice. Or, as he would put it, bonely. And it’d give you a distraction from work and class. As soon as you returned, you had to rush into work to cover a late shift and then immediately attend class for a final in the morning. Not exactly the welcome you wanted, but…

Meanwhile, your sisters, Jo, Elizabeth, and Emily got carted off to be part of Mettaton’s… something or others, backup singers? They didn’t even have a show yet, but boy, did you fume over that. Jo kept telling you that you could come and do special effects, but no, you said. Did you see what happened last time? Yeah. Not happening. You’re better off doing street performances until you’re comfortable with your magic. And that could take a very long time, considering how you were getting splitaches every other day and nearly stabbed a knife into your face to get them to stop. And this winter was turning out to be one of the worst ones on the books, to boot. Not a lot of snow, but ice aplenty, and that was NOT good driving conditions. It dropped at least ten below freezing during the  _day_. 

You fucking hated winter. 

Perhaps something would come along soon. Something to let you breathe and relax. Home felt empty without Jo around, even though there were plenty other family members running in and out. You thought about calling Papyrus, because he would definitely come and hang out with you, since his brother was god knows where slacking off.

Aaand this brought you RIGHT back to being annoyed at him. All these magical abilities plus a home on the surface and he still won’t teleport to you. You’d go to him, but. You didn’t want to end up halfway through a wall. Harry Potter taught you that much, at least. Sighing, you pushed yourself away from your computer desk, chair wheels clacking against the wood floor. From there, you launched yourself out of it and directly into your bed, burying your face in a pillow. You let out a muffled, annoyed scream and sighed.

Maybe you should call Papyrus. You fished your phone out of your pockets (damn jeans) and dialed him up. He always picked up on the second ring.

“HELLO, HUMAN! I TAKE IT YOU ARE FEELING ALONE. AGAIN.”

“You got me, Paps.” He had been kind enough to do various activities over the past month with you when you weren’t doing anything else, which seemed to be frequently. He had become your best friend, along with Michael, which no one was really surprised at because you shared every damn class with him. Of course, you communicated with Chelsea and Dr. G on and off, but you kept that on a low because it just made you damn depressed.

“WELL, I JUST SO HAPPEN TO BE HAVING A FRIEND OVER FOR THE NIGHT! IF YOU WOULD LIKE, YOU CAN MEET HER!”

“Oooh, do I finally get to meet Undyne?!” You had heard much about her in this time, and you thought she sounded _awesome_. Hella cool warrior fish? Has a penchant for punching things to vent her frustration? Blue scales? Count you in!

“YES! IF YOU WOULD LIKE, OF COURSE.”

“Hey, Papyrus! Who’re you talkin’ to?” A gruff female voice shouted from his end.

“MY HUMAN FRIEND!”

“The one that’s datin’ Sans? They comin’ over?! I wanna challenge them to an arm wrestling contest!!”

“IT SEEMS UNDYNE IS JUST AS EXCITED TO MEET YOU, -----.” Papyrus hardly said your name, usually referring to you as ‘human’, but you weren’t the only one.

“Great! I’ll be right over!” You had completely memorized his apartment, not even needing to think about it to teleport there. Just a quick breath in, out, and you were seated comfortably on his couch, arm draped over the back. “Literally.” Papyrus jumped and turned around, snapping his phone shut.

“WOULD YOU STOP DOING THAT?!”

“Nah.”

“Ooooh they’re here!” Without notice, you were tackled by a flash of blue scales, tipping the couch over and sending you rolling across the room. You shot up a defensive barrier instinctively, pushing the force a good yard away from you. “Nice shield!” The dust cleared from your eyes and you saw…

…Exactly what you expected. What, you think Papyrus never showed you a picture of Undyne? He was constantly Chatsnapping you photos of him and Undyne, and her toothy grin was just as scary in real life. You dropped the barrier and rolled your eyes. 

“It’s super rude to tackle someone you’ve only just met, Undyne.” 

“YOU SHOULD BE LUCKY SHE DIDN’T SUPLEX YOU,” Papyrus grunted, fixing the couch back into its original upright position. Your eyes wandered down to the floor, where you noticed you had dropped your phone. You counted yourself lucky for having a good protection plan, because the screen was definitely cracked from that.

“Yeah, punk! Also, I wasn’t expectin’ ya to appear outta nowhere like that, either. I’m like a cat! Super fast reflexes!” She snarled and held her hands up in claw-like shapes for effect. You snickered.

“More like terrifying deadly fish warrior,” you pushed yourself up off the ground, dusting yourself off. You might be bruised, but otherwise okay. You stepped over and offered her a hand, to which she scoffed, tossing her bright red fin-bangs (you thought it was hair at first, but it turned out to be very thin, hair-like fins that resembled beta fish fins) over her head, but didn’t refuse it. Little did she know the trick hiding up your sleeve. Just before her clammy claw wrapped around your hand, you slipped it in, and…

 _PPPPRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTHHHHHH!!!!_ The sound of wet fart filled the room. Your calm façade changed to a huge, shit-eating grin while both Undyne and Papyrus stared at you, eyes wide in disbelief.

And that’s when the evening went from good to great. Papyrus is holding his face in his hands, Undyne is lifting you over her shoulder- of course, you’re laughing like a deranged hyena- saying something about going to throw you out the window. Papyrus argued that wouldn’t work, because you could just teleport right back in and you’d never hit the ground. You interjected by saying it was “probably better to just stab me, if we’re all plotting my murder.”

“But that’s not _graceful_ enough,” Undyne grumbled. You picked at a stud in the back of her leather jacket.

“Since when have you ever been graceful, Undyne?” She tugged you off her shoulder, holding you at the armpits like a confused cat.

“I don’t like you.”

“I don’t like me, either, if that makes you feel better.”

“CAN WE STOP AND BE FRIENDS NOW?”

“No,” you said simultaneously, eyes narrowing.

“Could you let me go? You’re not as scary when you’re not about to throw me out a window.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” She let go of you, and then you realized that you two were about the same height, only she was a little taller. Papyrus whimpered, a little tear dangling off his, um, eyeball. How does he do that, exactly? “Papyrus, we were kidding, see!” She slung an arm around you, noogying you affectionately. “Best friends!”

“Eyup,” you grunted, wincing because maybe she was being a little TOO affectionate, “I’ve known since the start I’d like her, Papyrus. You got nothin’ to worry about!”

“OH GREAT!” His attitude and posture changed immediately, going from morose to caroonishly cheery. “WELL, WHY DON’T WE GET TO MAKING SOME DINNER!” Ah, stomachs, always grumbling at the right moment.

“Thank you for your contribution to this lovely conversation, digestive system!” You patted your stomach.

* * *

A Papyrus classic: spaghetti. His cooking drastically improved after you signed him up for classes at your school, but he always resorted going back to his favorite dish. Which you didn’t mind, because he always kept it vegetarian friendly for you. Dinner conversation had died down a bit once the steaming plates hit the table, but there were still a few jests thrown back and forth between the three of you.

_ Hey, you’re not consorting with my boyfriend, are you? _

_Pff, you wish. Besides, your other one is there, isn’t he?_

_ Point taken! Is that Undyne? _

_Yeah, she’s really cool. I keep feeling like she’s gonna beat me up._

_ I’d pay to see that. _

_Please don’t encourage her._

_ She can’t hear me, can she? _

_Well, no, but-_

_ Then I’m not encouraging her. So our first concert is happening next week, if you want to let them know? _

_Oh sweet! Yeah. I’ll take off of work. What day?_

_ Friday, it ‘officially’ starts at 8 but- _

“Hey!” Undyne snapped her finger in front of your face. “I’m talkin’ to you!”

“Oh! Sorry!” You jerked your head up. “I was talking to my sister.”

“…What?” She tilted her head, Papyrus slurping up another forkful of pasta.

“Telepathy,” you knocked knuckles against your forehead. “She was just telling me something important. Also, if you notice, when I talk to her, my eyes flash.”

“Wicked!” Undyne leaned forward and stared intently into them. Ever since she found out that you could use magic (you had sent a Chatsnap to Papyrus showing off your latest stage trick), she was enraptured by it.

_…Sorry about that. Are you seeing this?_

_ Yeah. It’s kind of adorable, actually. Anyway. As I was saying. It ‘officially’ starts at eight, but if you want, I could get you guys in backstage a few hours ahead of time. _

_I’d really like that. A month away from you is too much and I think I might tackle you._

_ Aww! Okay I’ll wear protective gear, got it. You let Paps and Undyne know, and Sans, too.  _

_Pfff, he won’t show up. He’s too lazy._ You clinked your fork angrily against the plate. _If he won’t come around for me, he won’t come around for you, either. So much for a soul mate._

 _Never gon’ be your boyfriend now,_ she sang to the tune of The Reynolds Pamphlet.

_You know what I’ll talk to you later._

_ Just sayyyiiinnnng~ _

You cut the lines, realizing you were glaring at Undyne.

“Sup,” she whispered quietly, looking amused.

“Jocelyn says her first concert is on Friday. You’re both invited.”

“OH YES! METTATON TEXTED ME ABOUT THAT EARLIER. I WAS GOING TO SAVE IT AS A SURPRISE FOR YOU BOTH UNTIL AFTER DINNER!”

“Ugh, I hate surprises, Papyrus!” Undyne punched him in the shoulder. Yep, just like the description.

“Cat’s outta the bag now, eh?” You shrugged, shoving another forkful of food into your mouth. With a thoughtful chew, you swallowed and looked to the skeleton across the table. “Hey, um, has Sans been around lately? He was invited, too, and…”

“HM, I ONLY SEE HIM AT NIGHT WHEN HE COMES TO READ TO ME-“

“Of course,” you muttered peevishly.

“-BUT OTHERWISE, IT LOOKS LIKE WE ARE WITHOUT HIM FOR THE TIME BEING.”

“i guess you could say you’re-“

Your chair screeched at how fast you shot up out of it, turning to see Sans, standing at the front door.

“- _sans_ me?”


	2. Beds EMPTY, No NOTE, Car GONE-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're a lil mad at Sans tbh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guys, guys, please. use they/them for the reader. yeah, reader insert, whatever, but i've seen too many people refer to the reader as "she." It could break immersion for someone who's reading it and sees someone calling the reader by she/her pronouns who doesn't identify with those pronouns or as a girl. and the fact that i had MANY people tell me to keep it neutral when i asked about it bothers me. like, if you want a sans/female reader fic, go read something else. 90% of the sans/reader fics are, anyway.  
> this is supposed to be for EVERYONE, regardless of gender, to be able to read. because, let's face it: we're all dirty skeleton fuckers.

To say that you crushed him would be an understatement. You channeled Undyne’s power and absolutely _demolished_ him, flinging yourself on top of him with such tremendous rage and sadness that he probably would have died if he hadn’t the good sense to teleport out from under you.

You spun around to your back, pushing yourself off the ground and pointed a sharp finger into his ribcage. His skull dripped with sweat, an uneasy smile settling in on his face.

“For WEEKS, I TEXT you, I CALL you, I leave you MESSAGES, you make EXCUSES, you AVOID ME, and now??? You show up??? TO MAKE A FUCKING PUN???” Your chest heaved with angry breaths.

“h-h-hey, n-no need to get so heated…?” He made an awkward chuckle, glancing over to Papyrus and Undyne, who had fallen silent. “c’mon, guys, back me up here…”

“Naw, man, you fucked up,” Undyne stated plainly. “We ain’t got no part in this.”

“I’M GOING TO CLEAN UP!” Papyrus excused himself to gather the dishes and plop them in the sink behind him. You grabbed Sans by the collar.

“Outside. NOW,” you hissed at him. Agh, you hated teleporting with your eyes open- it was like living a fast-forward. But it was over in a mere millisecond, and you stood in the vacant alley outside the apartment complex. You dropped Sans, turning to pace angrily back and forth. “What is your PROBLEM, dude?!’

“i can explain.”

“Explain?! Please. I- we- we’re SOUL MATES, Sans, does that mean anything to you!? You fucking disappear before I leave because you get wigged out that I can talk to your dead dad, and according to your brother, you DO show up, but to read to him, which is nice, and all, but really, Sans?”

“please, just-“

“I don’t have to ‘please’ anything, Sans! You really fucking hurt me, you know?!” You sniffled, bringing a palm to your teary eyes. “I- I thought I’d be okay, that, you know, maybe ‘he’s gonna get over it. Sans will come around.’ And then I started to wonder what was wrong with me. If I did something wrong. If maybe that whole soul mingling thing was a load of bullshit and I really _was_ just an eff-en-dee.”

“a what?”

“A… fuck and drop. A hookup. A temporary.” You shrugged, looking down to your feet, eyes still filled with angry tears. “And then! I got a text message from you. ‘Hope you got home safe’. And I felt good. But then nothing. Some casual conversation a few days after, and then when I asked if I could see you… you… you…. I… just don’t get it, Sans. By some miracle, your brother and Toriel live nearby and if it weren’t for them I’d’ve driven myself crazy. I’ve been so alone, Sans. Why did you do this?”

“…am i allowed to speak now?” You nodded, and heard him sigh. “simply, i’m afraid of commitment. that if i put my all into this… it’d disappear. my life has a habit of taking the good things away from me without warning.” Something about his tone made you recall some memories from soul mingling and- well, you kind of understood, but you couldn’t put into words what he experienced. “i just… gave up. and i hoped, in some sick way, you would too, but… you didn’t.”

“Why would you ever think I’d want to give up? You’re… I.. I fucking love you, Sans, I wanted to spend my days doing shitty magic tricks on the street with you and then going home at the end of the day and eating cheap pizza. And maybe get a cat, I don’t know.”

“you want a cat?” He snorted. “surprised you don’t want a dog.”

“I do, but funny enough I’m actually allergic to them.” You shrugged, trying to erase the smile pulling at the corners of your mouth. “I’m surprised I didn’t get a reaction from the canine unit down there…” You let out a sudden groan, throwing your hands up. “WE ARE GETTING AWAY FROM THE POINT, SANS!!”

“i know, i know. i don’t expect you to forgive me or anything… or even, uh, pretend to forgive me? i, uh. missed you.” The look on his face… was fairly grim, like he meant it.

“..Shit, Sans, I missed you too,” you sighed. You ran a hand through your hair. All of your initial anger and frustration had been vented, and though the air wasn’t quite clear, at least the window was open.

“i’m glad… that you were able to find solace in my brother and in Toriel, at least. have you seen much of Frisk?” You shook your head, no. You hadn’t. “ah, then they gotta be stayin’ with Asgore… welp, what do we do now?”

“…I have no fucking clue.” You shivered. “Okay, how about get out of the cold, for one?”

“sounds like a cool plan to me.” He reached a tentative, shaking hand out, palm up. You made a sound that was something between a groan and a sob. You took his hand, pulling him into a hug, his cheekbone pressed to yours-

…was the gravity up here different? Because he seemed… taller. Like, your height, taller. And wider. Did he put on weight? Can skeletons even put on weight? These are the questions that wracked your mind while you let gentle tears fall on the hood of his coat. Well, you didn’t care. You’re okay with him being a little thicker.

“we have a lot to work on, don’t we?” You could only nod and mumble an ‘mm-hm’ into him. “yeah, we really fucking do.”

*****

But how do you fix things when there’s a fish trying to arm wrestle you? Don’t answer that. It’s hard to focus because holy SHIT is she strong. You didn’t get a second to breathe the moment you re-appeared in Papyrus’ apartment (which, apparently, was Sans’ too, that’d’ve been nice to know TWO WEEKS AGO), Undyne grabbed you by the collar, called you a wuss, and threw down.

You started to reconsider your feelings for Sans, because man, you might just fall in love with Undyne. This, too, is rhetorical, because you know that she and Alphys are a thing. Are they poly? And you lost, because you were so distracted. Your head is kind of all over the place today. You hissed, shaking an aching hand back and forth.

“Agh, got me good.”

“NNNGGAHHHHH!!! I WIN AGAIN!!!”

“How can you have won ‘again’ if this is our first match?”

“I won earlier!”

“Oh? Because you seem to have failed to throw me out the window.” You leaned back and chuckled at her increasingly frustrated face.

“Well-well! You!”

“Me.”

“…did i miss something?”

“THEY’RE BEST FRIENDS!”

“ah…huh…”

Soon, though, everyone became settled on the couch, with Papyrus seated between you and Undyne. Sans opted for the floor, dragging a blue bean bag chair out from the black hole that was apparently his bedroom. You had originally thought it was some sort of sock closet and ignored it previously. Papyrus turned on some Mettaton movie, you didn’t know, you didn’t really care for the guy still, and streamed it to Jo until she fell asleep halfway through. Early bird. After that, you occupied yourself with throwing popcorn at Undyne’s face and looking innocent when she shot malicious looks at you. She, of course, quickly grew tired of this, and retorted by throwing the closest object (a very innocent pillow). But you’re not THAT slow, and stopped it mere inches from your face.

“Telekinesis, bitch.” A wry grin settled on your face. And that’s when the evening went from great to FAN-FUCKING-TASTIC! Because literally nothing was safe now. Everything had turned into a weapon in the Great Pillow War of 201X. Cushions, popcorn, Sans?, and Papyrus just sat in the middle of it, sighing into his palms.

He’ll never catch a break.


	3. Bara-cade the Doors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This isn't the weirdest day of school you've had, but it's on the list.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey this is my last update on every fic until the 10th of january i have a bunch of stuff happening until then, but i'll be writing and saving chapters to post after then.  
> i'm currently writing the last chapter of :||: and trying to work on What Ever Happened rn, and I've got Through The Veil basically finished. hope y'all had a good holiday and happy new year!

At some point last night, everyone deemed it ‘late’ and ‘time to go home’. Meaning it was past 11 pm, Papyrus was getting cranky, and you’re the only one who actually went home. Undyne just crashed on the skeleton brothers’ couch.

Eleven is not late for you. Or anyone in your family, unless you’re Jo, which you’re not, you just know that your twin likes to hit the hay around seven and wake up during the ungodly hours of the morning because early to bed early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and someone you despise. But you don’t despise Jo. You could never hate her. You’re getting away from the plot here.

There was no school work to be done, and no shift to go to tonight, so you laid down in bed and goofed around on your phone until  you could finally fall asleep.

*****

“So I saw your feed on Tweeter last night- looks like you were doing some pretty crazy shit,” Michael’s soft voice came. “Why wasn’t I invited?”

“I don’t think you could really handle Undyne,” you said honestly. He was too soft, too pure. Papyrus could handle a punch from Undyne because he’s tough as shit, but Michael? You patted the dark brown waves of his hair.

“Awww, no, I totally could! Look, I’m strong!” He flexed weakly to prove his point. You had to hold back a snicker.

“Sorry, I don’t think it really works that way. Besides, I need you around for my act! If Undyne hurt you, I dunno WHAT I’d do.”

“So am I just your circus monkey?” He halted in his steps, brow furrowing.

“No that’s not -“ And then he started making monkey noises and bowing his arms inward. This boy could never be actually serious about anything, could he? “Okay, okay, fine, I’ll try to get us all together at some point. Actually!” You remembered, “Jo told me last night she’s having her first concert on Friday!”

“Ah, wow, that’s awesome! Would that mean I get to meet, uh… well… him, too?” He of course meant Mettaton, but just hearing his name would send some of the girls (and boys and monsters and others of ambiguous genders and species) into a frenzy. You nodded. “Sweet!”

“Yeah, he… I don’t like him very much, but I admire his lifestyle.” You shrugged, then checked your phone for the time. “Wanna get to class?”

“Not really,” he held out his hand for you. You took it and casually walked to class holding his hand, like you always did, because it’s a nice feeling. Friends can do that. Everyone assumed you were dating because of that, but, no, you insisted you had a boyfriend. They didn’t believe you, of course, because Sans never showed up to PROVE that. But now that he was around, he just might. You sent him a text asking if he would meet you after class. And then, as you separated from Michael and sat down, you realized you had forgotten your workbook.

“Shit,” you swore almost silently. “How much time do we have before class starts? I gotta make a run-“

“Two minutes,” he said nonchalantly. “Forgot your book again? You could just look onto mine.”

“Yeah, but then I won’t have the notes written down how I like… Fuck it, cover for me.” It only took an instant to dash out the room and teleport to your locker and back, but you didn’t want anyone actually, you know, LOOKING at you while you did it. Michael, your confidant, made sure that while he knew about your magic, no one else did. Everyone knew you knew magic, but they thought it was all stage crap. He had accidentally walked in on you, uh, vacuuming? Without hands? And lifting the couch up to get the dirt out from underneath? And yeah, you kind of had to explain the whole shenanigan to him. But he totally understood and, quite frankly, didn’t give a crap, because it was awesome. He didn’t even question your eye color (but then again, no one did, especially with the anime club on campus being as dedicated as they are).

He’s a good guy.

You took your place in the classroom, looking as natural as possible, pretending none of that just happened.

“Welcome back to the land of the normal,” Michael whispered as an aside. You gave him a cold, hard glare and smacked him lightly with a little magic hand. “Ow! Okay, sorry, jeez.”

“You deserve it.”

*****

Lunchtime! Today’s selection: some salad that you’re sure had something Living inside of it, or half a peanut butter sandwich. You opted for the sandwich. You munched on it, Michael comparing his notes to yours.  Bit of a perfectionist, he is. A few of his friends, acquaintances of yours, joined you at the table, making you feel a bit crowded, but it was lively conversation nonetheless. You were halfway through a debate about ketchup being a smoothie when you were suddenly blinded.

“guess who.”

“HOLY SHIT FFFSSD-“ You heard Bec freak out and the rest snigger at them.

“Sans, we talked about this.” You pried his bony hands away from your face and glared behind you. “In fact, what were your brother’s words? Stop pranking the humans through time and space?”

“heh, yeah, but _tibia_ honest-“ cue groans “-i couldn’t help but make a good first impression on your friends.” You noticed he was wearing a black pullover, instead of his usual blue parka. And… sweatpants.

“Finally dressing for the weather, huh?” You raised an eyebrow. “Sit down, you goon.” You shoved Eric over and Sans took his spot, giving the poor boy an apologetic look.

“S-ske-skelet-skeleton-!” Bec was literally shaking in their boots, pointing a trembling finger to him.

“heh, no bones about it, this is the real deal.” You buried your face in your hands, making a frustrated noise. “why, you afraid of a big ol’ bag of bones like me?”

“Bec, this is Sans, my boyfriend, and he’s about as harmless as your brother,” you waved your hand over at Michael, whose head was half hidden by a pile of papers.

“B-buh-bu-“ Aidan touched them gently. Bec instantly relaxed. Ah, true love.

“so these’re your pals?” He clicked a tongue he didn’t have. “huh. expected more monsters.”

“Well, not many monsters go here in the first place,” Eric joined in. “I think I’ve seen one or two around campus. Aside from you, of course. But also, really, -----? You won’t date Michael, but you’ll date a skeleton? No offense.”

“offense taken,” Sans gasped dramatically, touching a hand to his chest.

“Ignore him, he’s a sarcastic twat.”

“yeah, love you too!”

“Don’t start with me. I’m still mad at you.” You lowered your gaze at him, letting your eyes spark for effect. Before you could see his reaction, you turned back to the group. “But, eh, what can I say? He gives me quite a bone-er.”

“They’re perfect for each other,” Michael muttered from his maelstrom of notes.

_ I’ll say. _

_Well, good afternoon, you’re late to the party._

“Oh man, these puns are just bad to the _bone_.” Aiden.

_ So I realized I didn’t tell you where the concert is even going to be.  _

_I assumed Papyrus would take us there. Or your boyfriend would send a limo, or something._

_ Pfft, I wouldn’t let him spare the expense. _

“But think about it: tomato is a fruit.”

“WE ARE NOT DISCUSSING THIS AGAIN,” you loudly interjected, stabbing a finger at Bec. They were the ones who started all of this. You could hear Sans say something in return, but you got distracted by Jo.

_Not even for your most favoritest twin?_

_ You’re my ONLY twin. _

_Exactly!_

_ Uggghhhh fiiiiine I’ll ask him about a limo… _

_No wait, I was joking._

_Me too._ You snorted out loud. That got you some weird looks. You just waved it off.

_So, anyway, where’s it at?_

_ I’ll tell you… on one condition. _

_I am not going to sneak in vodka for the last time._

_ Aw, party pooper. _

“You’ll drink tomato juice, but not ketchup?”

“i drink ketchup.”

“No way, can I see?!”

_This… is going to end badly. Probably with a ketchup chugging contest._

_ Shit, man, I wish I was still in school. Anyway. Condition. _

_Ah, yes, the condition. What do you want, sister o mine?_

_ You have to perform. _

_I’ve told you NO before and I’ll tell you NO again!_

_ Pleassseeeeeee. You wanna become famous, right? You wanna kick Criss Angel’s pasty white boy balls, right? _

_Yes, but I’m not ready yet!_

“CHUG CHUG CHUG CHUG”

_Jesus fucking Christ, I hate it when I’m right._

_That is amazing. Look at them go! Aiden is winning by a mile!_ It’s true, he was even beating out Sans. Dude has a passion for ketchup. Half the cafeteria was looking on in disgust, the other half in bewildered awe. You heard someone yell out “you go, bara skeleton!” and you wanted to cry.

_Jo please save me._

_ Sorry, you know how bad I am at teleporting. But I’d be willing to practice if you- _

_FINE I’ll perform but I better get fucking paid well for having to deal with this._

_ …The fact that Aiden won against your ketchup-loving boyfriend, or the fact that I’m forcing you to do this? _

_ Okay. Tell Sans I said hi! And Metta does, too. _

_Yeah, yeah._

How did your life turn into this mess? Your best friend’s sibling’s boyfriend is spewing ketchup all over the cafeteria floor (actually, it needed the update in color), your skeleton boyfriend is asking you what the hell ‘bara’ meant (“You, Sans, you’re bara,” you said, poking at his pudgy belly), and your sister is coercing you into doing an opening act for her show.

And it’s not even the weekend.


	4. Constant Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You tell Sans exactly what you want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey ho happy new years y'all  
> postin this and the 12th (i think, i wasn't paying attention honestly) chapter of :||: early because y'all keep asking and i can't deny a fan

So now that your friends finally believe you in that you are in a relationship, and class was over for the day, you could finally go home. They all believed you were crazy because you live like twenty miles away how are you not DRIVING to class in this weather?

Well, you say, a magician never reveals their secrets. This got you a lot of half-lidded glares and taut lips. Okay, you admitted, I just walk. This got you called an outright liar. But you can’t just tell them the truth, so…?

Oh, yeah, and Sans came with you. He didn’t like the feeling of your magic teleporting him, the same way you felt about his (it’s different each time and seriously your magics need to make up their mind). But, still, you were the only way he would know where to go, so you just took him along for the ride. You placed yourself (selves?) on the front porch because just going straight to your room made it look pretty dang suspicious.

“Oi! ‘M home, did anyone make dinner?”

“No,” called Kevin’s voice from a far-off room. “Make it yourself, you lazy twat!”

“Hey, watch your mouth!” And then you heard him raspberrying. “Ugh. The triplets are here, hope that’s-“ You paused. He inconvenienced you for a month, so why should you apologize for your brothers? “Well, looks like I’ll have to figure out dinner later. C’mon in,” you waved Sans inside. He nudged off his slippers and shut the door behind him. You removed your jacket and boots before heading up the stairs on the left.

He made no noise following you. Weird. Your room was one of two on the top floor, the other being Jo’s (well, currently, a guest bedroom since it was vacant). Parents and others slept on the much larger first floor. You took the right door and showed him inside. He paused at the door, letting out a snort.

“ _this_ is your room?”

“What! It’s perfectly normal!” Indeed it was. Though technically, it was the loft above the garage (reasoning behind the staircase right next to the front door), it looked like any other bedroom. Only, not? Like, super meticulously clean. Mainly because you weren't there much. In the upper left-hand corner, your bed, adorned with cushions and blankets aplenty, mismatched in design but the same blue-brown color combo. Wall above filled with letters from old pen pals. Lower left-hand corner, your desk, with school textbooks lined up on one of the shelves. Your laptop sat open, its screen dancing with a very old maze screensaver you had downloaded. Papers and pencils aplenty. Upper right corner, facing the foot of your bed, a very unused television set with an old StayPlation 2.0 system hooked up. You think the last game you played on it was The Legend of Dragoon*. Lower right corner, trash can. Only a few bits of paper inside. Walls are all a dark brown wood paneling, so you had a simple white non-shag carpet to offset it. And the ceiling we'll get to in the next chapter, but now for now there's a ceiling fan with imitation day light light bulbs in it.

It's a room.

“i dunno… i expected it to be messier?” He sauntered in, flopping down on your bed. You grunted, displeased.

“I’m not so lazy as to not clean up my room, ya know.” You tossed your backpack into your desk chair and shut the door, sitting yourself on the edge of the bed by his feet.

“eh, to each their own.” He shrugged.

“…Getting comfy?” He had sat himself against your pillows, arms above his head. He gave a shit-eating grin, causing you to roll your eyes. “Listen… we really need to talk about… everything.”

“everything?” He cocked a not-eyebrow, smug grin settling in on his face. You tried your hardest not to smile in return to his sarcasm.

“Yes. Everything. Us. I… am still hurting.”

“i figured. things like these take time to heal… for what it’s worth, i’m sorry. again.”

“You didn’t actually apologize last night, you know.”

“oh. well, then, i retract my statement.”

“So you’re not sorry?”

“okay this is getting ridiculous.”

“I know, I know.” You shuffled up and leaned against the wall. “I had half a mind to deck you right then and there.”

“i thought you said you weren’t violent?” He seemed to snicker.

“I’m not! That’s why I didn’t.”

“good thing, too. i’ve only got one-“ He inhaled sharply, not finishing his sentence.

“…What, life to live?” Sans shook his skull.

“not worth explaining. so… what are the terms of our making up?”

“This isn’t a contract, Sans. We’re two fully functional adults… wait, you ARE an adult, right?”

“meyeeeuuusss..? in… monster terms, at least. some of us don’t age.”

“And at what point does _that_ stop?” You reached over him to nab a blanket, because the wall is cold, but he ended up finagling you into his arms. “Wha-hey!  That’s cheating!” He only chuckled, the deep rumble of his laughter echoing into your chest. Well, at least you were warmer now. “Sans, c’mon, I’m tryin’ to be serious here…”

“sorry, just thought you might like some heating up. though you’re pretty hot already.”

“UUUGHHHHH SANS!!”

“you sound more and more like Papyrus every day.” Wink. “but, uh, yeah. some of us monsters are called ‘boss monsters’-“

“Do you live in a _video game_?” Cue snort.

“hey, i didn’t make up the name. blame Asgore for that one.” You raspberried your lips a little. “anyway. boss monsters. they don’t age after… i think they’ve fully developed their magical abilities. it’s a weird point to identify…” His shoulders crumpled up in a shrug. “and the only way they can age is when they have a child. they give up part of their soul, an offering to each other, and then there’s this whole long ritual involving jar of dirt, the blessings of the old gods, and an ancient artifact.”

“That… sounds like a lot to do just to have _kids_.”

“oh, it takes maybe like, two days, tops?” He waved his hand dismissively. “other monsters could age whether or not they have kids, though. but it takes commitment.”

“Monsters are way smarter than humans in that aspect… In general, actually, in my opinion.”

“a big compliment to someone with an empty head!”

“Sans, oh my god.” You buried your face into his hoodie in frustration. It smelled freshly laundered. How nice. “You’re impossible.”

“i know.”

“Humans? We just gotta…” You turned your face so you could breathe, ear to his ribcage. “…Have sex to have kids. Though it’s a little confusing because you need certain genetic things? Like not any human can have sex and have a kid?”

“well, good thing i’m not human, ‘cause..”

“Oh, um,” your face flushed, “n-no, you’d’ve been fine, no matter what, I… can’t have kids. Neither can my sister… our parts don’t function, basically.” God, you were talking about _children_ with your _boyfriend_. Adoption! Adoption is a thing. You’re nineteen. Good lord. Calm yourself. You can’t. You can’t have kids. You don’t know if you even want kids!

“all this kid talk is makin’ me feel a little, uh, awkward, so, change of subject?”

“Change of subject!! Please. God. I was trying to tell you that I… don’t know if we should be _doing_ this.” You pushed yourself off of him, but still within his arms. “Sans… I need to know I can trust you. I need to know you won’t run off again on me before I can… let myself love you.”

He looked away, grin, falling to a… frown. But he didn’t say anything.

“I’m hardly an adult by human standards. I turn twenty years old in April. I’ve been working since I was legally able to, I take care of my family, so, in a way, I’ve been an adult for a long time. But I still feel immature when it comes to relationships. So the fact that I gave so much of myself to you so quickly… says a lot? I don’t want to be hurt again.” His hands were rubbing your back, but he refused to look at you. Like he felt guilty. “It’s kind of ironic, what you said… you thought I’d go away, but you’re the one who ran.”

“i’m sorry.”

“Don’t… apologize. I know you’re sorry. I need you to do something _else_.”

“anything.”

“Look at me, first.” His gaze returned to yours, still looking guilty. “I want you to date me.”

“wh-“ He arched a brow bone in momentary confusion, his grin breaking back out. “pppfff, am i not doing that already?”

“…No?” Your face scrunched up in disbelief. “Dude, what we were doing before was like, casual sex! Dating is… different! Let me get to know you. Your family. Show me your interests and hobbies, let’s go out for dinner sometimes, go to the beach-“

“in winter?”

“No, you goob!” You reached a hand up and smacked him atop the head. “…Actually, I retract that, the beach would be pretty cool to go to in winter.” His grin only widened. It took a second to hit you. “Awh- jeeze, fuck unintentional puns!”

“heh heh. i thought it was pretty good. i can sea you’ve got it in your blood, huh?”

“Saaaans,” you drew out his name in a groan, “I didn’t mean for it to end up lake this!”

“oh. oh, okay, well, then, it’s a competition? i’m docking you points for that one.” His grip on you tightened, pulling your stupidly grinning face to his.

“Oh nooo,” you cried sarcastically, “Water we going to do about this?”

“and they just keep flowing.” You felt something inside you twist. Like you can’t just… resist him? Your fingers gripped at the fabric on the front of his pullover, creeping up to his shoulders.

“I’ve got a boatload of ‘em.” Foreheads touching, eyes closed.

“dam.”

“…That one was pretty weak, Sans.” You pulled back to give him a look. Hey. Think about this for a second. “See? This is kind of what I was talking about. Making puns. Joking. Spending time like this… together… with our friends and family… that’s what I want.”

“can kissing be involved, too?”

“No, absolutely not,” you said with a blank expression. Seeing his face made yours twist up again into a goofy grin. “Yes, kissing will be involved.”

“sheesh, you know how to scare a skeleton.” The low roll of a laugh shook through him again. It felt really nice going into you, a small one echoing out of you in return. “and… other things?” His tone was lower now.

“…Do you mean right NOW, or…?” The lights of his eyes rolled, a shrug in his shoulders. “No. We… will get to that, another day. I think I’d like to wait a little? I mean, yeah, I want you, but…”

“another day.” You nodded. “i got it. i don’t mind waiting for you.” Now that you weren’t up against him completely, he leaned in to press his teeth to your forehead.

You could deal with that, for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The Legend of Dragoon is a very real video game that I love and desperately want a remake of. Please, somebody, remake that game it's a gem
> 
> apparently someone has been ripping off my work. it's so badly written that i don't mind, i guess? but i'll be keeping an eye on it because wow rude much?  
> if you find that you think i'm ripping off of someone else or didn't give credit where credit is due, let me know! in... a nice way, please, because i'm a sad scared little creature i might cry  
> i want to rectify any mistakes i've made because all authors deserve a chance of writing their own, original stories without being copied. does that make sense? i don't think i've done anything wrong, but i draw inspiration from a lot of places and i might take something without realizing (other than song titles/lyrics because i'm straight outta 2009 lmao)
> 
> also a friend of mine told me i write a lot like jeff lindsay, which is great because i love darkly dreaming dexter (and its sequels), do any of you agree?
> 
> friendly reminder you can commission me for art at melancholicontentment.tumblr.com  
> or for writing by messaging me at my main, asrielking


	5. Dating, Start!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have no idea what you're doing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no idea what i'm doing  
> by the way, the names of any places or people are all things i made up. other than the telescope in cornell, which is a real thing that i've seen and it's really cool.

“So, what do you wanna do?”

“i dunno. what do you wanna do?”

“I dunno. What do YOU want to do?”

“i dunno.”

“I’m getting dizzy from going in circles like this.”

After that… unsatisfying discussion, you had ended up just staring at the ceiling of your bedroom. Sans appreciated how it was painted in a dark, almost black, blue and decked out in glow-in-the-dark stars and 3D planets. You didn’t know much about astronomy, but you did like looking up to the night sky. Much like you didn’t know much about romantic relationships, but you liked being in one.

“If it weren’t so cold,” you continued, “I’d take you to my favorite star-gazing spot. There’s a hill just over a ways behind my old middle school that’s perfect for lying down on during summertime and just staring into that endless abyss.”

“heh, sounds nice. i can’t feel the cold, but i don’t wanna make you suffer through that just to look at some dots in the sky.”

“Well, they’re not just dots to you, are they?” He shook his skull, lacing his fingers together on his stomach. And then, an idea struck you. “Hey. How about we go to the observatory tomorrow? It’s in the next city over, but I have a car, and could drive us-“

“observatory?” He raised an eyebrow bone (eyebrowne? Don’t think too hard about it). “you have one of those around here, and i didn’t know about it?”

“Yeah! It’s really cool. The one in this city is just one for like, school kids to take trips to, but this one – ah, hold on a sec.” You rolled off the bed and scuttled to the opposite wall, to your desk. You looked around in your books for a minute, muttering, “now, where is that… ahah!” You snatched up a pamphlet and map you had stashed away from your last trip out there, then lept across the room back onto the bed, landing on your knees by his hip. Sans bounced on the landing, looking hilariously shocked. “These will tell you everything you need to know.” You set down the map on his stomach and folded open the pamphlet. You read:

“The Tier City Observatory, also known as the Scotts Observatory, named after Mendell Scotts-“

“Weird name, huh?” You interrupted yourself. “But this guy was some local who discovered something like a comet, I dunno, so he got famous and they built this observatory for him. Anyway,”

“-was established in June of 1922. The observatory is fully accredited in several departments of aerospace engineering, astronomy, astrophysics, and more, and is a fully functioning observatory that is open to the public for tours, viewings, and private occasions.

The observatory houses the Yvette Hundring telescope, dedicated to its namesake in the fall of 1987. Yvette Hundring was a professor of Civil Engineering and later dean of Tier Institute of Technology. It is our largest telescope, with a 12” refractor lens, comparable to the Irving Porter Church Telescope in Cornell.”

“Cornell’s up in New York- I hope you get to visit, someday. Only been to New York City, once, myself.”

“where’s that relative to here?”

“Um… good question. I’ll look up the distance another time and get back to you. Anyway,” you continued,

“The observatory also holds many other smaller telescopes, which are free for visitors to use during either daylight or nighttime hours, so long as there is not someone already occupying its use. Needless to say, researchers get priority use.

The observatory is used for professional research, and as such, there are several classes one can sign up for to better understand our work and the works of the universe. We hope to inspire and teach many of all ages to continue the pursuit of knowledge and discovery of extra-terrestrial objects.

Public viewings are thanks to the dedicated work of our many volunteers and donors.”

“…And then it lists a bunch of names in reeeeally tiny text,” you squinted, “then it says its hours and has a map of the location… which, we have a bigger version right here!” You then patted the map on your side. “So, what do you say?”

“heck yeah!!” Sans was now sitting up, looking like a kid who’s had too much sherbet. The glow in his eyes and his smile was like staring into the sun, so bright and cheery and excited. It made your lips twitch up in response, too. “-----, this is… wow!! i never knew… i, okay, lemmie give some background.” And then he told you about how when he was a little skeleton, he had found a few books that had fallen into the Trash Zone (and explained what that whole shenanigan was, too). They were books about planets, stars, and the history of the universe. These sparked his love for the stars, but the only thing that came close was the Wishing Room. The glowing, sparkling crystals in the cavern ceiling. Close enough to touch, unlike stars. Sure, it was pretty, but… nothing compared to the real thing.

Then, one day, something incredible happened. A telescope. He didn’t find it, actually, Papyrus had. Papyrus was in Waterfall a lot those days, trying to convince Undyne to let him into the royal guard, and when he felt dejected he went to the Trash Zone to be amongst his people. And Papyrus, being the kind of brother he is, thought more about others than he did himself, looked for something to maybe present to Undyne as a gift of good intentions. That’s when he found it. It was a little rusty, and one of the lenses was cracked, and it needed a new stand, but there was a whole telescope that someone had just thrown away. Papyrus had seen pictures of these before in some of the books he didn’t quite understand that Sans had been collecting and pouring over endlessly for years on end, and knew instantly:

He needed to get this for him. Giddy, Papyrus took it home and wrapped it up and kept it hidden from Sans until his birthday, which was closer than Christmas was. And it was, in his words, the best birthday ever. He was so animated talking about this, to the point where you could see it clearly in your head. Or the soul mingling allowed you access to that memory. Either way, it was adorable and heartwarming.

“i’ve always had an eye for science, y’know? so, uh, this was… pretty great. at that point, i was a little more interested in quantum physics and the way time works, but that’s not saying i didn’t appreciate it. immediately, i took it to Waterfall, and from then on, well, i gazed at what i could.” Your legs were falling asleep under you, so you stretched them out, lowering yourself down to his side again. “my first night on the surface after the barrier broke was sleepless.”

“Who needs sleep when there’s a whole universe out there to study?”

“exactly!” He splayed his arms out in front of him in emphasis. “it was… beyond words. i ended up leaving my telescope up on the top of the mountain for anyone who passed by, monster or human, to use and discover the same kind of awe i had back then.”

“Aw, that’s sweet of you! But…” You furrowed your brow, frowning. “Then why’d you stay Underground so much?” The smile from his face fell, to a blank expression. Not really the sad kind, just…

“honestly? i was lazy. i was more comfortable with what i knew, and knew what i was comfortable with. i’ve known the Underground my whole life, and that world outside was a bit much to take in. but now, i have a reason to be up here.” He gazed to you.

“You have plenty of reasons to be up here besides me. You have Papyrus. You have the stars. You have tasting hot dogs from around the world. There’s an entire world to explore, Sans.” You shook your head, smiling a bit more. “Though, I appreciate how highly you think of me.”

He started to say something, but was cut off by the shrill buzzing of your phone’s alarm. You swore, pulling it out to shut it off. He gave you a questioning look. You apologized, because it was your work alarm, meaning you had to shower and change and then head out for your shift. Today was starting at six rather than eleven, so you wouldn’t be going home at seven in the morning, but rather at two. A bit of extra sleep.

Sans offered to at least ‘walk you there’ (see: teleportation), but you kindly denied, saying that he should spend tonight making up part of the lost time with Papyrus. He begrudgingly agreed, wishing, though, to just keep you there, in bed, with him. It was sweet, but your manager was already a dick about you having taken time off for vacation and having a strict schedule for school, so no way were you going to be late. You kind of needed money, after all.

With that, he said goodbye, with a small, careful kiss placed upon your lips, and was gone in a flash of blue.

You showered quickly, changed, and made sure you had your notebook before taking the car and heading out. Teleporting to school was one thing, but for some reason, whenever you went to work, it’d make you really dizzy, so you opted for using your car instead. The ride was pretty short, anyway, just a fifteen minute drive downtown.

You settled into your chair, giving a wave to a few coworkers, then clocked in on your computer. You turned on the headset and put it on; gave the mic a check, then took your first call of the night.

Eight hours, 148 calls, and three new funny quotes from callers in your notebook later, you clocked out with sleep in your eyes. Your job was easy. Not exactly tech service and not exactly telemarketing, sending out calls and receiving them about simple computer software. The stress of rude customers and an even ruder boss really took a toll on you, and when you finally got home, you didn’t even bother changing out of your work clothes before falling into bed.

-

 

Halfway through your rest, you were awoken by a loud bang. You shot up, panicked, and then blinked a few times. The air was still and quiet, with a bright moon shining in through the window. The slivers of light cast down on your sheets were interrupted by a blink-and-you-miss-it shadow sweeping across it. You rubbed the sleep out of your eyes and glanced over to the clock. 04:23 A.M. You’d hardly been asleep for two and a half hours.

The shadows bristled in anticipation. Oh no, you thought, not again. Your voice broke the silence.

“Okay, Chels, I know you’re there, so what do you want?”

No response. Odd, considering you were only supposed to see her when YOU wanted to. What could she possibly have in mind _now_? After a few minutes, you grew drowsy again and sunk back into bed. A stinging pain lingered in the back of your head as you fell back asleep.

Probably nothing, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> your chapter reminder to send any questions over to my tumblr, asrielking!  
> my art blog is taking commissions now! see prices and more info on melancholicontentment.tumblr.com !  
> I also take writing commissions! Send me an ask for more details!


	6. Observance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which it is revealed that you like anime. Nerd.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bit of a longer chapter here. i know exactly what i'm doing and where it's going (okay there's like one big twist and then after that i have no idea where it's going but in that twist the timeline splits and there'll be an AU spinoff of the work so BE PREPARED FOR THAT)  
> after i finish up all my current works here in the Undertale fandom I'll be writing a little oneshot Star Wars: The Force Awakens fanfic (still in the planning stages) and then i'll be working on original stuff. hope to see you all supporting me through it!

Waking up to the smell of bacon in the morning was not your idea of a good start to your day. The thought struck you that you totally forgot to eat last night, though, and your stomach rolled in protest of its emptiness. Though you were still tired, you had to force yourself away from the alluring comfort of your Sakamoto-san fluffiness level pillows and blankets.

You thought for a moment why you compared your bedding to a Nichijou character, then moved on. Shambling down the steps, taking the two familiar turns, one into the living room and another into the kitchen, you opened the fridge and stared blankly into it.

“Morning, gruesome,” your dad (Paul) said in his normal monotone, as if he had been calling you that your entire life. Note: he had. And it was between that, Peanut, or Booger, and you took the former of the three as the best compliment.

“Mrrrr,” you groaned, which was your best attempt at linguistics that you could muster after approximately five and a half hours of sleep. Your vision was still clouded from sleep, so you reached to your face to rub it away, but-

wait

your glasses

are still on your face. Okay, so you shut the fridge door and stomp over to the sink and rinse the lenses off because probably they’re smudged from your cheeks. You put them back on, amazed at how clean they are, but your vision is worse than you remember.

“Hey, dad, I think I need new glasses,” you slip them back off, peering down at them, lips pursed. You could still see pretty well without them. Better, in fact. Much… “….Better.” Your head shot up, eyes wide. “Holy shit I can SEE!”

“It’s a damn miracle,” Paul muttered from the table, sipping at his coffee (two sugars, no milk).

“Okay, thanks, Private Asshole.”

“That’s Staff Sergeant Asshole to you, mis-“

“Ahem,” you cleared your throat before he could misgender you. “Anyway. As I was saying before you so RUDELY interrupted me, I… my vision is clear. Like putting these on,” you hooked the glasses around the top of your ears again, “just makes everything the opposite of what it should be. Glasses make things clearer, not fuzzier. These are making things fuzzier. But when I take them off…” You pulled them away, arms brandishing out. God, everything was sharp and crystal clear!

“I see.”

“…Did you really just…?”

“No, not purposefully, because I don’t give a damn. Less optometrist bills for us to pay. Probably your weird magic shit.”

Well, he’s not wrong. Maybe that weird throbbing was your magic fixing something that was wrong. An imperfection. But… bad eyesight was in your genes. Both your parents wore glasses, half your siblings did, too, and… Holy shit, can magic really repair bad genes?

“I gotta ask Jo!” You exclaimed, nearly jumping a foot in the air.

“Maybe try eating first?”

“Right, yeah.”

-

Who needs sleep when you’ve got cure-all magic?! You sent several ChatSnaps to Papyrus with the captions “Who needs these anymore?” (when you’re holding them), and “not me!” (when you’re tossing them to the trash behind you). He replied with much gusto! Okay, you think that it was probably Undyne who was using the phone because Papyrus doesn’t swear like a sailor. Ironically, she worked on a fishing boat her first summer on the surface.

Right. Plot. Magic. Jo. You returned to your boudoir, which is a fancy French word for “bedroom,” but you don’t actually know that you just THINK that. Four years of French in high school and you don’t remember a damn thing aside from like two phrases that you were pretty sure were actually Spanish. Anyway, your belly was full with enough calories to push you through the day. It was a little past ten A.M. now, and class was in like three hours so you could get a nap in.

But you know Jo wouldn’t allow that. So you, being the good twin, rung her up, even making a little phone out of your hand pressed to your ear.

_ Morning, gruesome. _

_Are you starting to communicate with dad now, too?_

_ You live with a guy long enough and you pick up on his odd colloquialisms. _

_You just used colloquialisms in a sentence properly. At ten A.M. Am I in some strange alternate universe where the English language dictionary has suddenly become readily available at the hands of the public so that they may study, nay, LEARN from it?!_

_ I’ve been up since six and I’ve had several coffees. Don’t test me. _

_That makes a lot more sense. So, anything new with you…?_

_ You mean the eyesight thing? You don’t need to try and make it a weird thing, but yeah. Happened to me, too. Metta’s all happy about it, ‘cause he can see my eyes better. _

_Aw, how sweet, gag me._

_ Kinky. _

_Jesus fucking Christ, Jo._

_ Selfcest kinky. _

_JOCELYN._

_ Okay, okay, sorry. Sheesh. _

_Damn well should be. So has it been like this all morning?_

_ I mean, I guess.  Woke up like this. _

_Same. But it had to have happened after midnight, right? Because I didn’t get home until like 2:30 and still needed my glasses._

_ Do the details really matter? _

_Sometimes. It’s like a mystery._

_ You’re a regular day Sherlock Holmes. _

_I should let you know that I’m rolling my eyes right now._

_ I can see that. _

_Okay you know what?_

_No, I don’t know._ You are going to literally kill this girl. Literally, not figuratively. Her voice is so snarky and peppy and GAH YOU HATE YOUR SISTER SOMETIMES. _By the by, how did you sleep? I had a weird dream…_

_Not too well, actually. Hardly got any. Woke up around 4 because I heard a loud bang, felt a presence. Thought it was Chelsea, but it wasn’t. Gaster, maybe?_

_ That’s just the thing -  I had a dream about a weird figure that introduced himself to me as this Gaster. He said to mind an eye for the one who has no soul, or some cryptic shit like that. _

_Huh. Yeah, that sounds like him. Weird warning, though. Maybe he was trying to get it to me, too, but couldn’t quite reach me…_

_ Well, you’re the one who can talk to the dead. All I know is basic fire magic and whee. Boring. _

_Fire’s a lot more useful than lightning, bruh._

_ I’ve been entertaining ways to use this power. So whatcha up to today? _

_That was creepily vague. I’ve got class in a few hours and then tonight I’m driving up to Tier to take Sans to the observatory._

_ Oh, fun! Not the class part. You sure you aren’t driving up to Tier just to see lil’ old me? You know I’m here preparing for the concert all week, right? _

_Wait, you are? Bullshit. If you’ve been there, why haven’t you come down? Everyone misses your face._

_ Hi press meetings, record label, contract shit? I’ve been running around all month and I’ve hardly had time to sit down and eat. I’m free right now because it’s brunch with the girls and Metta. Our morning meeting, basically. _

_My bad. Tell them all I say hi?_

_ Already did. Liz and Em wish they could give you their cinnamon rolls, they know how much you love them and these are super good, like, holy crap. And Metta sends his love, as usual, so pass some to Papyrus when you get a chance? _

_He can text his own damn boyfriend!_

_ Point taken. Well, enjoy your newfound eyesight. And look out for the ‘soulless being,’ or whatever. _

_Will do. Love you, Jo._

_ Yeah, love you too. _

You reeealllly wanted to talk to Gaster now. Like, dude, you’ve managed to talk to my sister but not me?! Rude, much. But no matter how much you tried in that two minute span, you couldn’t get a hold of him.

So you tried the alternative route.

“G̸ra̢n̢d͝ Cen͝tral S͟t͢ati͘on,͝ ̧h̸ow͡ may I̷ d̸i͜rec̢t ̢your deaţh?͟”    Ah, Chelsea. Ever the sarcastic one. She’d gotten a lot clearer since resurfacing; probably because you were closer to the location of her physical body. On the opposite hand, Gaster had become even blurrier. A glitch. That’s all you could describe him as, really. Moving on.

“Hey. Sorry I haven’t talked to you lately…”

“N҉ó, Ì g͏et͞ ̢i͢t. I͝t̶'s ̛ha͝ŕd,̨ an̷d͢ ͜y̵ou̕ ́c͘an'̕t sto͡ṕ ̶b͘la̢m͝ín̢g yǫurşelf,̵ ͘ca̧n ͟you?” You shook your head slightly. "W͟ell,̛ ͟ńoth́i̛ņg I c͟a͜n ̵sa҉y ͟n͜òẃ wil͘l̴ ҉conv̸ìnc̀e you ţhat͠ it̸ ͘was͠n'͢t. B͟u̴t͞ y͢o͠u m͝u͢s̷t'v҉e̕ cal̛le͠d̵ me ̸her̨e͟ f̴o̷r͏ ̸a ̡reason.͜ ̡W̢h̢a͞t's ̕so ́i͡m҉po̶rt̸an̕t tha͠t͠ ̵y҉ou͡ ̸c͡a͠n ͏f̡a̕ce̸ me agai̧n͘?̀"

“Gaster. He came to Jo in a dream last night, giving her some sort of weird premonition type thing. About the ‘soulless one’. I think he tried to get to me, too, but the call disconnected before I could answer.”

"̢I'̀v́é s̵e͢én͘ h̶im̧ ́aro̷un̸d͝...̢ sort͝ ҉of. Hi̵s ͜p̴re͞se̷n̕c͝e ҉i̧s ͡wȩa̛k ̴h̀e͟r̸e on̨ ţh͡e ̧s̴urf̨a̵c͠e̡.҉ ̴B̨ut͠ I ţh͏ińk I̷ ͠know̛ ͢what yo͟u̶ are̸ sp͞e̴a͝k̢ing ̨of̨.̡ Ḩe's m̵a̛de s̴o͞me͢ c͏om͜m̡e҉n̢t̵s̛ ͝ab͠ou̷t͜ a ͢sou͏lless͠ ̨bein̢g ̢on ̸t͢he ̴s҉u̵r̵fa͝ce b̡e̕fore.̷ Th̡e͘ ơn͞e that͞ u̡s̕ed͏ to͢ ͘r͡esi̷de U̸nde͏rg̀rouńd.̢ ̡T͝h͠at ́h̛ad̸ a ͏powȩr of͡ s͢óm͘e͘ ͡sor͢t͝ th̡a͠t ̨no onȩ ̸else̸ ͞had͏.͞ ͢B͠ut it ͞wa̛s͝ a ̨lot̷ óf c͠om̡p̛li͘cáte̢d ̴jarg͡o̢n͏ ̨I ͠di͠dn̕'t unde͟rs͜tand͘.͞"

“Sounds like a lot of fancy lore that is also a load of bullshit.”

"Pr̀ob̛a̧b͡l̀y̸.͝"

“Well, no way to really tell if I can’t talk to him, huh?”

"S̷ad͘ly̶,̧ ͟nǫ.̶ B҉ut ҉t̀h̴e҉ ol̨d̨ sc̡ien͠t̸i̛st҉ i͟s҉ ̧gǫn̨e ҉e͜lşe̶wh̵e͜r̛e r͜ig͢ht no̡w͡.͞ If̴ ̶I ̸s͞e̸e ͢h͡im, I̷'͢ļl͞  as͟k ͘mor͡e͏ ̀a̸b̡o̕ut i͜t́. ̀S̶umḿon me ҉i̷n̵ a ͜w̶ee͘k͢?̴"

“Sure thing. It was nice seeing you again, I guess.” You dismissed the apparition and snuggled deep into the mattress, cocooning yourself in the blankets. Your work clothes still itched on your back, so you stripped under the covers and told yourself you’d throw them in the laundry basket before going to class.

If the now oncoming pain of a splitache would allow you to go. With a quick flick of your fingers, the lights shut, and the blanket covered your head. Magic is so useful when it’s not sending tremors of pain through your body. Or making you have weird hallucinations about ducks doing the Macarena to the Imperial March. You hadn’t even watched Star Wars in ages! Ugh, whatever, you squeezed your eyelids tight together, and, eventually, made your way to sleep.

-

_~*Du-du-wa doo iiit! Idol katsudo! Du-du-wa do iiit! Ashita e are you ready, GO!!*~_

Oh, no. That ringtone. Why do you still have it? Aikatsu! is on it’s fourth season and WAY past Du-Du-Wa Do It!! as its opening. You grumbled and scrounged for your phone, picking up right before it was on its last ‘ring’.

“’Lo?”

“And behold,” Michael said on the other end, “they be awake!”

“Fuck, I missed class, didn’t I?”

“Eyup.”

“And it was probably an important unit.”

“Eyup.”

“And you’re gonna give me the notes, right?”

“What kind of a friend would I be if I wasn’t heading over to your house as we speak?”

Reliable Michael. You turned over, still half covered in sheets, the remnants of your splitache still ringing behind your eyes. You felt static electricity sparking as you moved and knew you should probably discharge at some point soon. This was a thing now. You were slowly discovering your electric personality wasn’t just something nice people said to you, but a literal magic thing. You kind of figured, somehow, with how the magic ran like the little zaps of lightning between two rods or you’d sometimes (often) compare your splitaches to Tesla coils on the fritz in your head. Meanwhile, Jo had uh, discovered her main powers after creating a small yet uncontrollable fire in a hotel room one morning after a spat with Emily.

“You’re the best, Michael. I owe you one.”

“Yeah, ya do. The usual did you in this time?” You made a little ‘mm-hm’. “Sorry to hear, bud. I’ll be there in a few. Door unlocked?”

“I’ll ring you up,” which was code for teleportation, which he LOVED. He could hardly contain his excitement . Of course, that meant you’d have to put on some assemblage of clothes to brace the bitter cold of outside. Thank goodness no one was home to catch you in the act. The rule of “no magic in the house” was really putting a damper on everything. You tossed on whatever you pulled out of your closet, oh yeah, you have one of those, it shares the same space as Jo’s so you can walk in and everything! So you put on fuzzy warm clothes, still rather bleary-eyed and achy, then waited to hear for the sound of him pulling up before zapping yourself outside.

Literally. A crack of thunder exploded, and your vision was clouded by a white hot-heat, edged in purple. You toppled backwards off the front stoop and into a very cold snow coated bush. Well, there's your discharge.

“Wow,” Michael’s voice carried over from the car. “What an entrance!”

“I’ll say,” you huffed. “Gotta remember that for the show…” Your friend neared and offered a hand, which you took, since pushing yourself off the bush would be both painful and probably impossible. You turned, and he patted off the few bits of snow from your shoulders, arms, and butt. “I owe you a second thing, now.”

“Nah. Butt touches are free, courtesy of our local magic making our friend make them give their tush to the snow.” He said this with casualty but a touch of humor. A soft kind of humor for a soft voiced young man. You rolled your eyes, one side of your face pulling up in a smirk.

“C’mon, tushie toucher.” You still had a hold of his hand – which was a more familiar and comfortable sight than Sans’ at this point – so you took a breath in, hoping there’d be no fucking LIGHTNING in your BEDROOM when you arrived.

Thankfully, there was not. This exacted a sigh of relief from the both of you, though little balls of electric neon purple energy surrounded you. You popped them away.

“Glad you didn’t become toast.”

“Glad I didn’t become toast, too. Your head still hurt?”

“A bit.”

“Alright. You can lay down while I scan these into your computer. I’ll get out of your hair in no time,” he said, emphasizing it with a little ruffle at the top of your head. You smoothed it back out into shape, sticking your tongue out at him.

You flopped into bed, still warm, and he took place at the desk. The scanner was underneath in one of the cabinets, sitting on top of an old Glassdoor ’98 computer (the computer itself, not the monitor. The monitor is LONG gone). You took this moment to just gaze at him and appreciate how lucky you really were to have a friend like him. Taller than you by about half a head, probably Sans’ new height. Weird gravity stuff, you figured. Dark brown, wavy hair, thick eyebrows, heavy, and a round Italian nose. A pair of rectangle hipster glasses sat at the bridge. Broad shoulders and a tough-looking torso (don’t punch it though, he’s a sensitive cinnamon roll), though you never took the time to observe his legs. They’re legs. Congrats. You’ve observed them. You considered him handsome, and outwardly said it a few times already, but that’s just what friends do.

Friends like Undyne and Papyrus. Though their relationship is weird. Like they’ll fight and laugh about it and the dynamic is weird but Papyrus has told you that sometimes, she’ll give him little pecks on the top of his skull and holy shit they’re queer platonic partners how did you not-?

“You been feeling like this all day?” Michael interrupted your thoughts.

“Mm, pretty much since about four A.M.”

“Yikes,” he grimaced. “You don’t have work, though, right?”

“Not tonight, no. And I’m already feeling way better than I was. Gonna have to. I’ve got plans, anyway.”

“Aw, I was gonna ask to stay the night.” He pouted, slipping the first sheet of notes into the scanner.

“I mean, you can come with us! I’m taking Sans to the observatory in Tier.”

“Oh man, I haven’t been there in ages! Are you sure it’d be okay for me to come? I wouldn’t wanna intrude…”

“No, no, no! It’s fine, really!” You waved your hands a little in reassurance. “Well.” They stopped. “Maybe I should text him and ask, just in case… But you can still totally stay here, whether or not I go out. You’re always welcome.”

“Yeah, but what if Sans comes home with you?” He flipped the sheet over, clicking on your laptop to save everything properly.

“He’ll go home right after,” you fished your phone out from the tangle of bedsheets and typed out a quick message to your boyfriend. “I’ve set some limits on our relationship after what he did to me. Besides, it wasn’t really a ‘relationship’, not by societal standards, anyway. Or mine, for that matter.”

“I wouldn’t know,” he shrugged. Your phone buzzed with a reply. “I’ve only had a crush on like, one or two people in my entire life. Relationships are weird.”

“I’ll say.” You glanced down at the screen. “Good news, Sans said you’re more than welcome to join. Oh,” you made a small sigh as another message came in, turning into a groan.

“Did he make a pun?”

“Several. Bad ones. I’m not gonna bother repeating them,” you tossed the phone aside. It bounced lightly into the unknown.”

“Aw, I’m missing out on star puns?”

“I’m sure you’ll hear them all tonight. We’re leaving at like, six.”

“Ah.” He scanned in another sheet. “Will we be getting dinner beforehand, or…?”

“What, are my cooking skills THAT horrible?” You scrunched your nose up, making your voice nasal. “I vill haf you know, I am ze greatest chef in all of France!” His shoulders shook in laughter.

“Did you plan on cooking?” Cue eyebrow raise.

“Well, I didn’t last night, so I was thinking something like pasta primavera.”

“It’s winter.”

“It’s food.”

“Touche.” You reached over (half falling off the bed in the process) and poked him.

“Now I have.”

-

Conversation with him was always lively and full. Never a boring moment. The few hours between his arriving and dinner passed quickly, too quickly, and then you shoved him in the back seat of your shitty car before backing out the driveway and heading over to Sans and Papyrus’ home. He jokingly complained about that, having claimed shotgun, but Sans got carsick pretty easily, so you wanted to save the seat for him.

Pulling up to the small apartment complex, you laid on the horn. The sound of something hitting the driver’s side window made you jump and stop. No one was there, just a little note taped to it. All it said was ‘one sec’ in the chicken scratch handwriting you recognized as Sans’. Is… Is that pink glitter pen? You shook your head, rolled down the window a bit and tore the note off with a mildly annoyed look settling in on your face.

A couple of minutes passed with the both of you staring pointedly at the front door. It finally swung open, and out came Papyrus, grinning and wearing an oversized black pullover with white flecks and the words “SPACE IS FAR OUT” printed on the front. You snorted, wondering if he realized that he was wearing a pun on him. And… also, blue jeans! Which just felt weird to you, since you hardly saw him wearing anything other than his Battle Body, but whatever, it looked cute. You assumed he was coming, too, which is great! More the merrier. He bent over and waved.

“HELLO, HUMAN! SANS HAS INFORMED ME THAT WE ARE GOING TO THE OBSERVATORY THIS EVENING!” His voice was only slightly quieter from outside. “AM I TO SIT IN THE BACK SEAT?”

“Yeah, Papyrus. You cool with this?” You twisted around to look at Michael, who was grinning like an idiot. “I’ll take that as a yes. Get in, Paps.” He opened the door and slid in, adjusting so that his legs were bent up nearly to his face. Ah, the displeasures of being tall. You automatically shifted the passenger’s seat up so he could have a bit of room to stretch out.

“AH, MUCH BETTER! THANK YOU, -----! SANS WILL BE DOWN IN A BIT. HE SAID HE HAD SOMETHING TO TAKE CARE OF.” You glanced in the rear view mirror and saw him narrowing his eye sockets, shifted to be looking out the window. “NO IDEA WHAT, THOUGH. OH! HOW COULD I BE SO RUDE!” He swung around to face Michael, grinning wide and holding out an enthusiastic hand. “HELLO, OTHER HUMAN! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

“Hi Great Papyrus,” you chuckled a little bit at Michael’s equally enthusiastic voice, “I’m the okay Michael!” Their hands shook.

“I AM QUITE SURE THAT YOU ARE ALSO GREAT! NOT AS GREAT AS I, THE GREAT AND LOVABLE PAPYRUS,” he touched a hand to his collarbone, looking proud, “BUT EVERYONE HAS THE POTENTIAL TO REACH MY LEVEL OF GREATNESS! WHY, EVEN YOUNG FRISK IS JUST AS GREAT AS I! PERHAPS EVEN GREATER!”

“You know Frisk?! THE Frisk?!” Michael’s jaw hung agape in shock.

“I didn’t tell you? I met them on my vacation. Papyrus and Sans are like Frisk’s brothers,” you informed him. Out the corner of your eye, you saw Sans exiting the building, wearing an equally oversized pullover that said “MY STOMACH IS A BLACK HOLE” with a picture of a black stomach with stars and hamburgers inside of it. You briefly wondered where the hell these guys got their clothing.

“Woah… You must be some pretty proud brothers!”

“WE REALLY ARE!” Sans made his entrance.

“eeey, howdy, Michael, good to see you again.”

“You don’t have eyes, Sans.”

“observant. i like this kid.” He grinned more than his usual and settled into the seat. “hope you don’t mind i brought papyrus along. otherwise, he’d’ve been all alone tonight.”

“Mind? I’m really happy he’s here, dude. Plus, look at them,” you jerked a thumb back and Sans line of sight followed it to the animated conversation happening in the back seat. “They’re adorable.”

“heh, yeah. this will be fun. we good to go?”

“Almost.” You straightened out, then belted, “SEATBELTS!!!!” The click of three seatbelts immediately came. “ _Now_ we’re good to go.”

Safety first.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lightning and thunder, fire and brimstone. the twins of the apocalypse.  
> i'm joking  
> that's a joke  
> but yes, those are your main offensive powers. being that you're humans, you learn these things quicker than monsters, who live longer and have more time to figure it out. more on these later and how they fuck up your life in the most hilarious of ways


	7. The Stars and Planets Aligned Just For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A successful trip to the observatory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im super sick and this is the only thing making me feel better tbh  
> i'll post more of :||: soon but i don't like the way it came out so i'm editing chapters until i think it's right
> 
> don't worry, we'll see more of Miya. I love oc's. Oc's up the wazoo.

The forty minute drive to the observatory was unbearable, to say the least. There’s now a running joke about Michael being Calvin the scarab beetle.

Don’t ask, you don’t know, you were driving, the road is very long and winded in all sorts of directions that’s a lie it’s straighter than you will ever be and you just could not understand how any of that was happening.

Anyway

the observatory looks really nice after sunset! Wow! Lit up fountain and a giant, uh, thingy? Armillary sphere, Sans said. That was lit up too, whatever it was. It wasn’t there last time you had visited, which was… Six years ago, so yeah, they probably put it up sometime after that and before now. It was pretty and fancy.

You’d love to ask Jo if she had time to come and see you, but when you tried, you were met only with static. It’s probably past her bedtime, anyway. With a huff of disappointment, you ascended the steps to the front doors, which had also been changed. Glass, heavy, with bronze handlebars and various constellations, made to look very Renaissance in a decorative gold painted on. You took a moment to admire this, because it was very obviously hand painted, then yanked the door open and waved the boys in.

Sans let his brother and Michael enter first, so on his way in, you swatted your hand against his bony ass. He yelped in surprise, turning to you with his blue blush spreading over his cheekbones. You smirked and followed the group in. First up: pay admittance fee. Unless you were a student of TINoT (Tier Institute of Technology- better than abbreviating it to TIT) and studied one of the approved courses or a staff member, you had to do a small pay-what-you-want fee over $1 to allow full access to the observatory other than, you know, restricted areas. You always paid a good $35 because that’s a good price to you. You can afford that, and it’s well above what most people pay. Lots of folk would take advantage of this $1 minimum and pay only that. Sometimes $5. But the representative at the desk got a nice surprise when your group all paid much more than that and thanked you all profusely.

You wish you could afford to be a donor, but maybe after college. Anyway there was a plot I was trying to drive you towards but I got all caught up in describing how pretty the place was (even dark blue tiles with white flecks to look like the heavens and a large domed ceiling) and how generous a person you are! So let’s get going!

“Okay, okay,” you hushed me, getting weird raised eyebrow looks from everyone. You waved it off as your inner monologue being a pest again. Proceeding down a long length of hallway, your group of four arrived in the central stairwell. It was a large, round room, about ten stories high. The glass ceiling was unlit, as the winter moon shone bright and beautiful, illuminating with more than enough light to see. The stairs themselves were a wide spiral touching all sides of the building, and swinging in a silent motion was a pendulum. Looked heavy. An arrow on the floor indicated that it was released towards the east many years ago, though the numbers were smudged off by foot traffic. Papyrus called from above, already two stories up, animated to get a move on. You chuckled and rested an arm on his shoulder. This caused him to jump.

“Yeah, lazybones!”

“HUMAN!! THAT IS THE ULTIMATE LAZINESS!”

“Yeah, -----, not everyone can have teleportation abilities!” Michael sounded grumpy. You shrugged and continued up the stairs, waiting at the third floor landing, your destination, for the rest of the party.

-

“And this,” an electronic voice droned out of a worn speaker, “is a brrtszzfffsddaaaa…” Its last word crackled and faded and you looked to it with disappointment. This pretty thing in the case had no description card. It was a slightly rusted copper instrument.

“that’s a helioscope,” Sans informed you, coming up from behind and pointing into the case. “it was used to measure sunspots a long time ago.”

“Oh. Neat. You know a lot about all these things, don’t you?” He nodded. “Heh, maybe you should work here.”

“maybe i should. they hiring?” He gave you his wicked grin. You were about to answer him when you heard a loud crash from the next room over.

“Uh, Sans? Papyrus got himself tangled in a thing,” Michael poked his head out. There were two other voices, Papyrus’s frantic yelling and a staff member’s telling him to calm down and it was okay because this stuff happens all the time. Well not all the time, but they’re used to it. It was a collapsible paper model of a cosmolabe, anyway, Papyrus. You’re good. His orange blush was so cute and embarrassing and half the model was stuck in the hole of his lower arm bone.

Oh, you don’t know anything about anatomy, either. You tried to read up on it after getting home, but the book was so boring and all you wanted to do was play Mario Kart.

The staff member, after piecing the model back together, gave Papyrus a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “You’re in no trouble, mister, uh…?”

“PAPYRUS!”

“Do you… have a last name? I’m not the type to call anyone by their first name until I know them. Oh, but how rude of me! I’m Oto Miya. I’m an intern here at the observatory!” She was on the taller side, with dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail. Her skin was a bit on the dark side, too. In conclusion: cute. You find all girls very cute, and she was no exception. She wore a monogrammed lab coat and scrubs. Huh. Must work with sensitive equipment.

Starting with Papyrus, everyone introduced themselves. Well, a new bit of information for you: turns out Gaster wasn’t Gaster’s name. That’s the family name- Papyrus and Sans Gaster. So then, W.D. must be…? You’d ask later. Michael Miller, though you knew that. And you. You shook miss Oto’s hand and gave your name.

“Normally, I don’t come down this way,” she continued, leading your group through the small museum. “I actually work up in the lab on the seventh floor. We test meteorites for their composition.”

“meteorites, huh? you must be pretty star-stricken to work with them,” Sans chimed. Okay, that was a good one. Miya laughed, an awkward, snorting laugh that didn’t quite sound right with her voice.

“Oh, that’s a good one. It’s been light-years since I heard a good joke like that!”

“Please don’t encourage him,” you snickered. “He’ll go on for hours. Trust me, I’ve gone back and forth with him. It’s not a battle you’ll win.”

“ah, c’mon, that’s why you love me! it’s NASA’bad, is it?”

“SAAAAAANS!”

“You are quite funny, mister Gaster!” His face twitched.

“hey, listen, i know you’re just tryin’ to be polite, but, uh, why don’t you just call me Sans? ‘sides, it’d get confusing. with, uh, Papyrus, and all.”

“Oh, you are right! I apologize, mister Sans,” her hands flew up to her mouth. “Ah, but I am getting away from myself. I was taking a walk around while on break when I stumbled upon young Papyrus here,” she gestured to him, who was, once again, in another animated conversation  with Michael. “I still have a few minutes, so would you like me to lead you all to the main telescope hub?”

“Yes, please,” you replied almost too quickly and enthusiastically. Sans’ hand shot and wrapped around yours protectively. You gave him a silly apologetic look. Man, what is with you and getting crushes on everyone you meet?

Anyway, Miya led you all to the telescope hub, giving small but interesting facts about the building and various objects in cases as you passed them. “Here we are!” She said finally, flashing a lovely smile. “It was nice meeting you all. I hope you have a great time here and visit often!”

“OH, WE MOST CERTAINLY WILL!”

“Thanks for everything, miss Oto,” Michael gave a friendly, close-eyed smile. She said her goodbyes and you could finally get to what you wanted to do: show Sans the stars.

You took him over to a telescope you remembered loving for its ease of use while Papyrus and Michael went to pester various staff members and scientists about how everything worked. This particular telescope was focused on the far-off Andromeda Galaxy. It showed it off rather beautifully, its near stillness mysteriously enticing.

You first leaned down to adjust the focus knobs, silently thankful you didn’t need glasses anymore even if contacts were an option, since different people need different focuses. You got the galaxy into what you hoped was a good focus for Sans and stepped away.

“I know that with the moon out tonight, it’s not the best for observing the sky, but here,” you pushed him forward. “You’ll be able to see at least a little bit through this. Go on, take a look.” Sans fished his hands out of his pants pockets and placed them on either side of the telescope, shut one eye socket, and leaned down to the eyepiece. The first thing out of his mouth was an astounded gasp.

“holy- is that a star?!”

“That is many stars, Sans,” you chuckled. “That’s the Andromeda galaxy. Didn’t you ever read anything about it in any of your books?”

“no,” he said breathlessly, fumbling at the eyepiece, as if it would disappear if he didn’t keep hold of it. “no, i’ve read about the Milky Way, that’s our galaxy, but this… this is entirely new to me! it…” His voice cracked a little. You almost felt bad for him, but understood the joys of discovering something new and beautiful for the first time. “this is so much better than the Wishing Room… tell me more.”

“Well, I don’t know much, but-“ You paused for a sec, digging up the info from your brain. “I know it’s the closest galaxy to our own, and that one day, billions of years from now, it’s going to collide with the Milky Way into one big galaxy. We’ll be long dead before that happens, though,” you laughed awkwardly. Sans made a noncommittal ‘mm-hm’ noise and you continued. “It’s, I think, two? No, two and a half million light years away from Earth. You know how far a light year is, right?”

“yep.”

“Okay, less for me to explain. It’s also the largest galaxy in our local cluster.”

“local cluster?”

“Yeah! Oh man, you’re gonna flip. You think that’s cool? There’s more of them. More than fifty of them, all located within ten million light years of this VERY spot.” He spun to you, looking cartoonishly flabbergasted. Jaw hung open, eye sockets wide.

“fifty?!”

“And that’s not just all there is. There’s millions and millions of galaxies out there, hundreds and thousands of stars and planets and black holes and comets- and there’s even more to discover! Maybe even aliens!”

His eyes did the star thing from that one children’s cartoon. You know, uh, Steve Universal or something? Hilariously ironic name for where you were right now. “no kidding?!”

“Nope. And the best part is? We don’t know how any of it works. That’s where quantum and astrophysics physics nerds like you,” you poked a finger into his shoulder playfully, “come in. The universe is very, very old, Sans, and with the help of smart guys like you, well. I’m sure we’ll find out just all its quarks in no time!”

“oh, man, i- what are quarks? did you mean to say quirks?”

“Oh, Sans. You’ll find out soon enough. Come on, I’ve got other things to show you.” You were silently resigned at the pun that flew over his head.

You both went around to each of the available telescopes, you explaining to him what each one was pointed at, everything you remembered about it, and at some point you realized that Papyrus and Michael were listening in, too, everyone taking runs at making up silly fake space facts after each observance. The few staff and other visitors there that night seemed utterly amused by your antics, a few even providing their own input and sometimes printed out diagrams and charts. Sans kept them all, first folding then stuffing them into his pockets. There was so many – does he, too, have hammerspace magic? Not a question you really cared to learn the answer for because you might end up in there some day. You shuddered at the thought.

“Hey, -----,” Michael jerked his head aside, asking to speak to you privately. “So, I asked around a little, and it turns out that they are taking interns here. I think it’d be really great to get Sans to be working here, don’t you think?”

“Really?!” You scoffed. “Michael, you’re always coming through for me, hell yes!”

“They said, in particular, that they’d love to get a monster on their staff. Humans, they say, generally take the skies for granted. But monsters? First time for a lot of them seeing the real thing. Plus, they wanna know what kind of stuff he knows.”

“Well, his dad was a scientist Underground, and he seems to know a lot about quantum physics and how fission works and… some other things that I didn’t understand, but!” You shrugged. “Yeah. So, what, as a surprise?”

“Yeah, ‘s what I’m thinking. When’s his birthday?”

“Oh. I… don’t actually know that. But we can find out another time.” He nodded in agreement. Looking over, you saw the bone brothers playing around with several planetary models, levitating them with their magic throughout the room to create a scale model of the solar system. Your lips twitched in a smile. In your heart, no, soul, you could feel how happy Sans was with all of this.

You could feel him. Feel his belonging. For the first time in a very, very long time, Sans felt comfortable and happy and liked he belonged in this place. You wanted to congratulate him and encourage him but meeting his gaze said it all – he knew, too.

And that’s all you needed to know.


	8. Morose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jo seems a little... depressed. Is it something really worth worrying about, or...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> text heavy chapter, no real plot, but it is an important chapter for future stuff that happens. pay attention kiddos

That night (Friday):  Michael returns home with you after rolling his eyes at the grotesque display of affection you give Sans when dropping off him and Papyrus. AKA, you gave him a little innocent kiss at the door and Michael acted like a child. It was funny, all things considered. You both figured it’d be easier to stay at your place and go to school together, and you were just friends (right? Right) so no awkwardness (RIGHT???) would ensue.

Shit, do not start telling yourself you have feelings for him it’s been a MONTH, god damn it. Perhaps! It is just the initial excitement of knowing you have a good reliable friend and the strange anxiety that comes along with it. It’s all good, you reassured yourself. Allllll good.

Except, you didn’t have an inflatable mattress. ALL GOOD HE CAN SLEEP ON YOUR BED.

“What if, like, certain words didn’t exist?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like, if the words swim or sleep or angry didn’t exist. You’d have to put the prefix anti in front of them!”

“Oh my god, Michael,” you covered your face in the blanket, snickering. It was that time of night where you were so tired, you were getting silly.

“I’m antisarcastic!”

“Go to antiawake, Michael.”

“But I’m antitired.”

“I don’t anti…. I don’t care! It’s late and we have class in the morning.”

“Yeah, true.” You felt him rolling over and patting your back. Oh shit please don’t spoon me please don’t spoon me please don’t- “Sorry to keep you up so long. Goodnight.”

“G’night.”

You think you needed to have a talk with Sans about your weird infatuation with falling in love. After a half hour of silence and being uncomfortable in your position, you flipped over to see his gently snoozing face. Something in your torso jerked and you reached a tentative hand to tuck a stray hair behind his ear. Soon enough, though, you were able to fall asleep.

* * *

“Hey.”

“Yo.”

You sat down on the bench next to your sister. “This is new, huh?”

“Yeah, but I kinda like it. Being able to see your face AND talk to you.”

“Lucid dreaming… what a life.”

“No,” she shook her head. “It’s more than that. Sharing dreams, being able to talk to each other… This has got to be a new power, don’t you think?” You shrugged.

“Maybe, maybe not. If either of us doesn’t remember in the morning, we’ll know, right?”

“Right.”

The dream was a little hazy. White upon white upon white. Cold and quiet, with nothing but a wooden bench seating yourself and your twin inside of it. Jocelyn seemed… morose.

“Hey, poutine, you alright?”

“Heh,” she smirked a little at the new odd nickname you gave her, “yeah. No. I’m alright.” Her face said otherwise though, falling again to blankness.

“You know I can tell when you’re lying, right?” You scooted over and wrapped an arm around her, hand stroking the back of her hair. She had been growing it out, it seemed like. It looked good on her. You liked to keep yours short, though. Less to deal with.

“Yeah, I just guess you’d think it’s out of character for me to feel this way.”

“Pssh,” you raspberried a little, “naw. You’re a human being. You’re gonna have weird emotions and not know where they came from or what to do with them.” She made a small hum, nodding her head once. “So you wanna tell me what’s going on, or am I going to have to pull a you and invade your thoughts?” You still weren’t able to do that. Only what she sent you. Though she was able to pull files out of your head as if the office was unlocked and unguarded. She’s got powers you don’t have, and that concerns you.

Aren’t twins supposed to be exactly alike? Especially twins, who, for the first 14 years of their life, people got their names messed up? Twins with the same taste in romantic partners? Twins with the same favorite foods, movies, and clothing store? But whatever path you had gotten separated on turned you into different people. Classes, different friends, opportunities, though magic… came from the soul. And your souls were so similar. Her powers, her emotions, these were things that you didn’t know.

And that scared you. It scared you to think that she might not share.

But you’re her twin. And she shared.

“I just… kind of feel like I’m going through the motions, you know? At first… I was really excited to do this. Like my life was going somewhere, you know?” You nodded, kind of understanding the feeling. Maybe not exactly the same, or even really similar, but you got it. “And now, I haven’t had time to do the other things I like. I haven’t been able to draw, I had to cancel all my commissions, and I can’t go out on my morning runs without being plagued by paparazzi asking me questions about Mettaton… Liz and Em are having a GREAT fucking time, though! They were made for this! But I… I’m not really feeling the passion anymore.” She let out a long sigh and leaned back in her spot, head tilting up towards the not sky. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m overthinking it. Maybe it’s nerves.”

“Don’t tell yourself that, bubulah.” You rubbed comforting fingers through her hair. “You’re allowed to feel like you don’t love what you’re doing but if you keep feeling like this, maybe you should get out. I’m sure your boyfriends will support you no matter what you decide to do.” You angled your body to face her more fully, a serious look to your face. “And I will, too. I mean, look at me. A business major that can’t run numbers to save their life and wants to be a magician. And Michael wants to go into video games, but he’s still young and starting up a video game company takes work. It takes time for everyone to find out what we really love and want to do.”

She flopped her head to the side, iridescent purple eyes staring into yours. You hoped, secretly, that all that would go away. You missed how her eyes shone like morning dew on grass, that mysterious jade green with flecks of silvery blue. “But what if I don’t want to do anything?”

“Then that’s okay, too. We can do nothing together!” You smiled, a real, large smile, cheeks touching the corners of your eyes. She burbled out a giggle, her real smile following. “You and me, and Papyrus and Sans and Undyne and Mettaton and everyone else. We can all lounge around and enjoy life and still do nothing.”

“Heh. Thanks. I really appreciate that, sib.”

“Anytime.” You turned back to your original comfortable position.

“But what about you?”

“What _about_ me?”

“You fell asleep touching Michael’s face. Don’t tell me that isn’t bothering you.”

“Pahleeze, my romantic endeavors are far less of a concern to me than your life falling apart.”

“You’re deflecting,” she prodded you with her elbow. “C’mon. You crushing on him?”

“I mean, yeah, but… it’s… difficult.”

“You think Sans would disapprove?”

“He’s monogamous.”

“Ah, but you aren’t.”

“True but I don’t want to even TRY anything without talking about it with him first. Plus, I don’t know. I think Michael is aromantic. And I don’t wanna force anything… I dunno. It’s weird and I don’t want to talk about it for now.”

“Okay, okay. Just let me be one of the first to know when you do, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. So you want to make this dream awesome, or what?”

* * *

Something kept itching at your back throughout the rest of the week. Several somethings. The way they crawled like dozens of little ants, unable to satiate the itch.

You wondered what it was. Your guilt at starting to have feelings for your friend? It was absolutely reasonable. You were only just starting to patch up things with Sans, so maybe you were allowing yourself a little bit of leniency in the love department. But you knew he was monogamous after that whole soul-mingling thing, and didn’t want to do anything without thoroughly discussing it with him first. Either him. Pick one. No awkward love triangles here, no siree.

If not guilt, then confusion? Or tiredness. Dream sharing took a lot out of you, so much so that you still felt exhausted the morning after. Couldn’t even use your telepathy with her for the next few days. Text messaging was a thing, though, and it was confirmed. Both of you remembered. Anxiety, perhaps, at your upcoming show. You still had to prepare for that, which you did through the upcoming week. But the itch still stayed. Fear, that your sister’s moment of depression would worsen and become chronic.

You sighed, stretching back onto Papyrus’s couch, chalking it up to just being tired. It had been a long week.

Class and work didn’t give you that much time to prepare, but it was Thursday again already. Undyne shoved a bowl of popcorn in your face, grinning her usual toothy grin and flashing you a thumbs up before lifting your legs and settling underneath them. Meaning that Papyrus would probably have your head on his lap, the way things were going. And Sans would take his spot comfortably in his beanbag off to the side.

Movie night before the big day to calm your nerves. Of course, you still had class in the morning, but it’s what friends were for. Undyne would pick you up after her shift (she now works as a personal trainer slash body guard slash if-I-tell-you-I’d-have-to-kill-you) and take you to the concert “in style.” Meaning on her motorbike. Papyrus’s job ran a little longer. He helped out part time at a restaurant while looking into being a motivational speaker. He says their spaghetti is nowhere near as good as his own, which, you had to agree, that restaurant’s spaghetti fucking sucks. Sans… will hopefully work at the observatory one day.

But for now, instead of worrying about that, you indulged in the poorly shot horror movie and laughed until you fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> weird timeskip is weird


	9. Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the big day! You arrive early and are able to practice your act before going on. But, not really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FLOWEY IS FINALLY COMING IN THIS CHAPTER HOLY SHIT IT'S A MIRACLE
> 
> also can you tell i love writing mettaton? i love writing mettaton  
> sorry this took so long to come out. I've been sick and writing has been impossible for me. drawing's a bit different because it's just really simple for me, but I actually have to THINK about writing.
> 
> So have this very long chapter. I haven't written any of chapter ten. But I know some of you are probably getting antsy...

“No, no, no!! I said that the diamond glitter effect is supposed to go off at 05:17, not 05:27! Moron!” Hurried apologies and scuttling feet with a bustle of activity surrounded the entirety of backstage. Yeah, there’s that anxiety again, settling in deep. “Burgerpants, water!” A small cat-like creature popped out of nowhere and handed Mettaton a bottle of water. Why would Mettaton drink water? Wouldn’t it mess with his circuits? Ah, he’s pouring it onto this Burgerpants creature now. He sighed, looking like he was used to it.

You felt kind of bad for him. You had literally just arrived here and already you felt overwhelmed. Clutching your act notes to your chest, you started forward into what would be literal hell. Undyne, already, had ditched you to go find her girlfriend. You totally got that. You were on the lookout for Jocelyn.

_Hey, I’m here._

_ I’ll come find you in like, twenty minutes! Someone is insistent upon redoing my hair for the umpteenth time. Is everyone else here, too?_

_No problem. I wanna wander around anyway and get to know people. Mom and dad aren't coming till the concert actually starts, and Undyne just ran off on me. Talk to you soon._  First stop, Mettaton.

“Darling, how lovely it is to see you!” He swept you up in a hug. You clanged your fist against his chassis.

“Lemmie down!” You protested. Instantly, he dropped you, landing you on your butt. You hissed from the sting of pain that hit your tailbone. “Yeesh. Yeah, good to see you too, Metta.”

“So glad you agreed to be our opening act! I know for a fact that you’re going to do just wonderfully.” He extended a hand and helped you to your feet. “Sorry for making you feel so uncomfortable, but, you know me!” He laughed his gaudy laugh. How a laugh could be gaudy, you don’t know, but he pulled it off.

“Thanks for the reassurance. I really appreciate it. And you’re forgiven.”

“Oh, goodie. Now, you know, I’m very busy and I have other matters to attend to, but please, if you need anything, anything at all, just give me a shout! Or, better yet, you can bother dear old Burgerpants here!” He gestured to the cat creature, who was licking water off the back of his paw. You grimaced, seeing him up close. Not that he wasn’t cute, no, you thought he was adorable and wanted to scratch his ears but the way his face had tangled up into a forced, despairing smile made you wholly uncomfortable.

“W-will do,” you choked out.

“Lovely! Have yourself a good time, darling. Makeup and costuming for you is in about… two and a half hours. Dress rehearsal is going to be called about an hour before then. Think that’ll give you enough time to do some practice out on stage?” You nodded. “Grand. Tah tah!” With a grand spin of his heel, Mettaton in all his glory gave a quick wave before disappearing into another crowd of people doing the wrong things and editing the script to his performance. You let out a sigh of relief. Just being around him took a lot out of you.

“I get the same feeling, kid,” Burgerpants said besides you. His voice was a low, almost Tennessee accented drawl. Looking to him, you saw him lighting up a cigarette.

“Uh, shouldn’t you be doing that outdoors?” You raised an eyebrow. He looked to you with that same, sad smile, and said,

“Kid, some day you’re gonna learn that it’s better to just not give a crap what the man says.”

“Uh huh…” You nodded and reluctantly patted him on the head before getting as far away from him as possible. Which led you to the stage, funny enough. You caught your breath before gazing out. A small ‘woah’ escaped you. It… was huge! And freezing! The roof was open to the sky, and above you, you could see the last remnants of twilight fading away. It was only, like, four in the evening though, so you knew you had a bit of time. Rows and rows of seats lay before you, along with an open pit right in front of the stage. Being down there was one thing, but being on stage was another. The knife twists.

Your grip on your act notes loosened, and you went to set them down on the stage. It was a nice, sturdy hardwood that would make it easy for you to move around on, but not easy to slip and fall. Various staff worked on the lights and set around you, so you gave them a verbal warning that you were going to practice with the stage.

It would take some getting used to.

* * *

Not even five minutes into your first practice, you were just about to levitate the final object on top of your Impossible Tower, when a shrill voice cried out: “How do you DO that?!” Which sent it crashing down and you into a flurry of swears. Turning towards the voice to chastise them for breaking your concentration, you saw little Frisk and their mother, Toriel, watching you from left stage. You sighed, running a hand through your hair.

“C’mon, Frisk, you know about my powers. And since when do you speak?” You made your way to them, giving a little ruffle of their hair. Frisk held in their hands a potted flower with an angry look on its face. Strange. You had seen things like that in stores before, but never one that was angry. “Good to see you, Toriel.”

“A pleasure, as always, my child.” She gave a gentle smile.  

“Hey, don’t I get a hello, too?!” You stepped back.

“You… are a talking flower.”

“My name’s Flowey, you di-“ Feeling the glare that Frisk was giving him, Flowey didn’t finish that word. “Ugh, sorry, fine. I’ll play nice. I’m Flowey. Flowey the flower.”

“That’s not a very creative name.” You realized you had said that, not thought it, and your hands flew to your mouth. “I-I mean-!” Frisk giggled.

“Rude! Ugh! I’ll have you know I thought for a reaaaaally long time about that!!” He huffed, posing the leaves on his sides like angry arms.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s good to meet you too, Flowey. Uh, but it was pretty rude of you to interrupt me like that,” you waved a hand over to the collapsed tower. “So we can call it even, right?”

“…I guess,” he grumbled. You laughed, but something about Flowey made you feel very uncomfortable. Something about him was… off. Sure, you’d seen plenty of monsters and were very used to them by now, but he was. Different. Like something in him was missing. You shrugged it off.

“So, you’ve come to watch us all perform, huh?” Frisk nodded. It must be hard for them to sign with a pot in their arms.

“Frisk has been so excited. Back underground, they actually, err, fought with Mettaton,” Toriel said with some hesitance. “Made him more famous than he was! Of course, I forbade them from doing it ever again.” She chortled. “Maybe when they’re older, they can perform with him again. But it’s far too dangerous right now at their age.” Frisk had a little pouty face on. Guess being reminded that they couldn’t play with their friend made them a bit sad. You made a noncommittal noise, pretending you agreed with her.

If Frisk could make it through the underground five years ago and come out alright, you think that they’d be okay doing it again. They’re tough. But you’re not their mom.

“you know, Tori, one day Frisk is gonna be grown up and you won’t be able to stop them from doing what they want.” You didn’t even jump this time, but it seemed everyone else did.

“Y-yes,” Toriel composed herself, “I know that. But I want them to have a normal childhood free from harm. Is that too much to ask?”

“their childhood is a bit far from normal, if you ask me,” he chuckled. Toriel unhappily agreed. Sans eyed Flowey. “Flowey,” he said in an unhappy tone.

“Smiley trashbag,” he replied in a similar spit. Tension grew to a highly uncomfortable level. You and Toriel stared at each other for a moment nervously before deciding to break it apart.

“So-!”

“Yes, we should-!”

“Anyway I have more practice to get to, Sans, wanna help?”

“love to.”

“Good to see you! Can’t wait to see your act!”

“Yeah,” Flowey called, “try to impress me, will you?”

“Uh huh,” you nodded and waved before pushing Sans out to center stage to help collect your props. “What the hell was _that_ all about?”

“that… flower. i don’t trust ‘im.” Sans grunted, displeased, picking up a bowling pin and tossing it to you. “somethin’ about him… like he’s got some ulterior motive or something. sure, he may act all sad and helpless, but… i can’t help but feeling like he’s done some really bad shit before.” He shook his skull, shuddering.

“Well, maybe I can help get to the _root_ of the problem?” You grinned, but that fell when you saw he wasn’t laughing. “Oh, come on, Sans. He’s just a flower. What’s the worst he could do? Give you allergies?”

“i’m serious, -----. that flower gives me the creeps. the only reason i haven’t interrogated the thing is because Frisk really cares for it, for some reason.”

“Huh,” you piled the props together. “Sorry. But if Frisk cares for Flowey, then maybe he’s not as bad as you think he is.”

“no… really, think about it.” You paused for a moment and looked to him, staring deep into those brightly lit eye sockets of his. Something in you tugged a bit, your soul. And you realized what he was talking about. Memories came to the surface. All very vague and blurry, some happy, but mostly painful. Thorns and vines and an eerie laughter that was sure to haunt your nightmares. You shivered.

“Okay. I kind of get it. But even you doubt that those memories are real, Sans.”

“still have some belief.” His head snapped up. “shit i..” You guffawed at his unintentional pun. You could tell how hard it was for him to hold back a laugh. “okay, you caught me. but that doesn’t dismiss my point. you can’t trust him.”

“I think I’ll inform my opinions for myself, thankyouverymuch.” You stuck your tongue out at him. When trying to pull it back in, you found yourself unable to. You looked down as much as you could, then to him.

“ya keep your face like that, it’ll stick,” he winked before releasing his magical grip on you. You muttered a few choice words and got back to work. Can’t live with him, can’t live without…

_ See you’ve met our dear little Flowey. _

_Ah! Hi! Yeah. When’d you meet him?_ You were surprised to hear Jo’s voice. Wasn’t she supposed to have found you already?

_ Not much longer before you did. I like him. He’s like a little kid, almost. _

_I didn’t get that vibe off of him. Well, a little, I guess, since he was impressed by my magic. That was cute. So, where are you? I’m on stage right now._

_ Actually, could you come to me? I think we need some us time that isn’t in dream form.  _

_Sure thing._ You turned to Sans. “Hey, I’m gonna go find Jo. She wants to talk to me.”

“time to stage your exit?” His smirk widened, eyebrow bone raising. You rolled your eyes and gave him a quick peck before following Jo’s directions to her dressing room. You had to weave in and out of carts of dresses, props, and crowds of people before even getting to the dressing room area, but after that, it was fairly uncrowded. It wasn’t her dressing room, really, but a shared one between her, Liz, and Em.

Something told you they weren’t in there. You didn’t even bother knocking. As soon as you entered, you were met with a heavy, exuberant tackle hug. Not even a chance to close the door, so you half stumbled out, laughing at Jo and returning the favor.

“Ah, shit, it’s so good to see you,” she dug herself into you, inhaling deeply. “You even _smell_ the same!”

“Excuse me, I’ll have you know I switched shampoos!” You were jokingly indignant. “You smell like… roses?”

“Metta’s choice,” she pulled back and shrugged. “Come in.” You followed her in, shutting the door behind you. The dressing room looked nothing like you had expected. It was rather empty and clean, unlike what television showed. Three seats in front of a long mirror on the right hand wall with makeup pallets and neatly arranged racks of clothing along the left hand wall, with a small lounge area in the back corner. Plenty of room to move around, change, and have makeup done. Seemed logical. Jocelyn shambled to that lounge area and slumped into one of the plush seats. You followed, but didn’t sit. Papers were messily scattered across the table, each with names at the top of each of your sisters.

“So… what’s up?” You tried to be casual, leaning your hip against the table. The edge poked into your hip a little too sharply.

“What’s up? Hah! What’s up is that I’m not fucking READY for this! I can’t- I can’t go through with this!” Her hands jumped to either side of her head, leaning back in a groan. “I’m not prepared, I don’t want to do this, I- I-,” her words stuttered, coming out in choked sobs. You slid into the seat, although cramped, you had to comfort her in some way with this sudden crying.

Seeing your sister this upset made your heart ache. “I j-just can’t, it-it,” she hiccupped, “it’s t-too much.”

“Hey, hey, there,” you reached an arm up, using a sleeve to wipe at her wet eyes, “okay, you still have a few hours. Why do you think you’re not ready? You fuckin’ killed it down Underground.”

“Th-this is different!” Her voice jumped an octave, strained and upset. Her face was already turning red. “This… the whole arena is sold out, man! I…”

“Got a bit of stage fright?” As if you weren't totally afraid, either. But you had to put these things out of your mind.

“It’s more than that, -----.” She shifted in the seat, turning to her side so there was enough room for both of you. “This isn’t… what I want to do.” Her face scrunched up, more tears rolling down her cheek. You were running out of sleeves.

“So… it’s like what we talked about, then. Have you talked to Mettaton at all about this?”

“A little,” she shrugged, “but he’s so insistent that I’m overthinking it, that it’s just a bit of stage fright and once I’m up there I’ll feel better. But he doesn’t get it. He was LITERALLY built for this.” She sniffed.

“Well, not literally,”

“No, not literally, but,”

“but, he knows what he’s doing. Maybe he doesn’t understand you as well as I do…” You sighed, taking her hands in yours and rubbing them. “Oh, who am I kidding. No one understands you like I do, other than you!” You laughed a bit at that, but her expression didn’t change. “…Sorry. I’m doing the best that I can. I know I’m going to sound like a broken record of your boyfriend, but,”

“Please don’t.”

“Listen, Jo. Just… try. Even just one song. See how you feel. If you can’t do it after one song, pull out, and…”

“And what?” Good question. And what? She was one of the band. Guitar, violin, vocals. Emily on banjo and keyboard. Liz, vocals. Mettaton on piano, and vocals. Of course, they all were to dance, too. Hard life of an idol.

“..And I’ll go in for you.”

“What?! No, that’s crazy. You don’t know any of the steps, and you’re even worse than I am when it comes to this kind of stuff!”

“Wha- hey! Rude.”

“I’m serious, -----."

"Yeah, so am I. You have the dress rehearsal soon. You can make it through that, right?" She nodded. "Good. But if you can't. I'll be there."

"Shit," she laughed with a melancholy. "What have I gotten myself into? I wish I had the same life as you. It’s way better, way more exciting.”

“Pwh h, hwha?” Your eyes scrunched closed, face shaking in confusion. “E-exciting? Me? Jo, you’re LITERALLY about to become a star, and you’re calling the life _I_ live _exciting?!”_

“Yeah, ‘cause,” she reached over the papers to pick up a thick stack stapled together, “the life _I_ lead is lined out in a fucking contract.” With that, she threw it down on the table with a hard thwack. You cringed. That kind of noise set your teeth on edge. “I’ve got no choice. But you can hang out with everyone and go out and do what you WANT to do.”

“Yeesh. Can you talk to-?”

“No, I can’t talk to Mettaton; I’d have to talk to his LAWYERS.” Her tears were now angry. “He’s under the same fucking contract. It’s ridiculous. I don’t _want_ this.”

“…I know. I’m so, so sorry, Jo. I wish there was more I could say or do about it, but you’re kind of stuck for tonight.” An idea struck you. “Hey. How about for the next hour, instead of feeling sorry for ourselves, you come help me practice my set? I’m sure it’d make at least one of us feel a lot better about going on stage.”

“…Yeah. Actually, I’d like that a lot.”

* * *

“Can SOMEONE _PLEASE_ close that roof? It’s FREEZING out here!” Mettaton stamped his foot down on the stage. “SANS!” He called to the blue-hooded skeleton. “Where’s your brother? I haven’t seen neither head nor tail of him! I miss my cinnamon roll.”

“it seems we’re sans him right now.”

“..Pfff,” Mettaton let out an ugly chuckle. “You’re not being serious, are you?”

“nah, he’s just hanging with Undyne and Alphys right now. you find them, you find him.”

“Thank you, darling.” He turned, giving you and your sister a sweet hello-goodbye before rushing off to find his boo. Speaking of, you noticed a little DJ stand had been set up on stage right back, with a little ghost checking out the equipment. Your mouth opened in a wide ‘o’ shape, because holy cow a ghost!

“Oh,” Jo took notice of you taking notice, “that’s Napstablook. They’re Mettaton’s cousin. They’ll be doing additional musical stuff for the songs when we’re mostly dancing.”

“They. Are. ADORABLE.” The little ghost floated back and forth, looking like a child’s drawing of a ghost. On their… uh, head? Was a set of very expensive (you presumed) ghost headphones. You started rushing over before Jo grabbed you by the sleeve.

“Ah, no. They’re super shy. You might spook them.” You narrowed your eyes, pouting.

“Fine,” you whined, only going as far as your props. Sans had set them all back into an easy spot. You wanted to thank him, but he had disappeared from stage. Probably to help Mettaton find Papyrus. “Let’s just get a move on.”

“So, what’s your plan?”

“Well,” you started off explaining what you were going to do, from your entrance to the tricks, to picking a random ticket stub and getting an audience member’s help, the doorway trick, and your final trick. When you were finished, while balancing your Impossible Tower, Jo let out a low whistle.

“Some act.”

“Some act, indeed. Honestly, this and that last trick are the hardest parts. I’ve been practicing everything else all week.”

“Lemmie guess, Michael helped with that audience one?”

“Yep.”

“Boy, he must HATE you by now,” she snickered. It was nice to see her mood lifting again.

“Only a little.” You pinched your fingers together. “He’ll be here tonight, though, so you’ll finally get to see him. I hope.”

“Been long enough,” she scoffed. You finished off the tower, which had started off with a single sewing needle and grew to having a very large couch on top. “Sheesh, what, you gonna get yourself up there, too?”

“Maybe,” you called down, leaning back into the couch. What a view, you thought. Loud, mechanical groans knocked you out of your thoughts and broke your concentration, sending you falling. You didn’t have much of a chance to react, only closing your eyes and knowing to expect impact, but-

-…there was nothing. You finally opened your eyes to see a haze of purple surrounding you. You hadn’t even heard any crashes, so-? You were a mere few centimeters from the stage, and the moment you realized, that grip on you was released. There were patters of fallen objects, and it still hurt a tiny bit when your face met cold, hard ground. The hell? That certainly wasn’t yours…

“Be careful! Holy shit!” Jo was at your side, lifting you up. You took a look at her. She was sweaty, eyes wide with fear.

“Did- did you use your magic to save me?”

“I… yeah? But it…”

“You’ve never been this powerful before…” You grinned, nudging her. “The heck, dude? You been practicing without me?”

“N-no! It was like adrenalin,  or… the magical equivalent of it.” She let go of you and looked down to her hands. “I just… knew I had to stop it, and I did. Guess this isn’t so hard to get a hold of…”

“….determination,” a soft voice came.

“Huh?”

“T-that, uh……….. nevermind……” Napstablook had inched their way towards the two of you, but their face turned a slight translucent red (aw how cute, they’re blushing!) before they turned away.

“No, no, it’s fine! What… what is that? Determination? C’mon, don’t be shy,” you encouraged them.

“…….” They turned back around, looking to the ground. “I….. don’t know much…… only stuff I’ve heard from Alphys…….. but, uh, it’s like… the will to live. Determination. The will to keep going forward and do….things. It’s mostly a human thing…. it keeps their bodies preserved after death…. unlike monsters…. we just turn to dust…. oh….. I’m rambling again…….. sorry…” They began to turn away again.

“Napstablook, wait, no, it’s fine! Thank you.” They only nodded, not turning again to face you. “Determination, huh…?”

“Well. I know I’m determined not to let you do that EVER again,” Jo sneered. You laughed it off a little. She groaned and took her phone out of her pocket. Must be on vibrate. She glared at it for a moment, then stuffed it back into her jeans. “Sorry, there’s a mishap with some stuff I gotta take care of. Thanks for trying to cheer me up, sib.” She gave you a quick hug before running off somewhere back stage. Trying.

Trying being the key word.

Meaning she still wasn’t feeling better. You sighed, resigned, slumping down. Was there nothing you could do to help?

“….I’m sure she’ll feel better soon,” you heard Napstablook say. But when you turned to respond, they were occupied with something else.

Yeah.

Better.

Soon.

Sure.

Thanks, Napstablook.

Now you were starting to wonder if you were depressed, too, or if it was just depression by osmosis.

Whatever.

You had an act to prepare for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still taking donations and commissions to keep me alive. Check out more on my art blog, melancholicontentment.tumblr.com  
> You can also reach me on my main, asrielking.tumblr.com


	10. we interrupt this program to bring you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> COURAGE, THE COWARDLY DOG SHOW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> STARRING: COURAGE, THE COWARDLY DOG

shit you guys i've hit the biggest damn writers block I've had in ages. be patient with me, thank you to those who are sitting tight. ...meaning, all of you.

in the meantime have this little update:

i'm broke i'm tired and i've been stuck in fallout 4 hell for friggin days on end there's no escape. i drew both hancock and nick valentine. save me.

i'll delete this when the real chapter ten is done.

as for everything else... the edit of Blue, finishing Through The Veil, and What Ever Happened  
like i have them  
i have the chapters  
they  
just  
suck???  
everyone is ooc, too much dialogue, not enough plot, not enough PUNS

i think it's being sick that's what's killed me? idk i hope i get a big ol kick in the but of creativity and can deliver to y'all.

hmu on tumblr


End file.
